Formerly Known as Harry Potter?
by ev11235813
Summary: What would have happened if the obvious abuse inflicted in him by his relatives has been uncovered by Social Services? Harry was adopted and allowed to grow up in a loving family. This has allowed him to express himself and live his life as the person he really is. Trans Harry. Fem Harry. Rated M for safety as mentions abuse and other mature themes. No parings decided yet.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: -** All cannon characters and settings belong to JK Rowling. This is her Sandbox, I'm just playing in it!

 **Chapter One.**

31st Aug 1990 – Hogwarts School Of Witchcraft and Wizardry

It was the day before school started and Minerva McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, was sitting in her office going through a pile of letters. She was a tall, thin woman who looked to be in her 60's and usually wore a severe expression on her face. This was a task she did every year on this date, but this year she did it with more excitement than usual.

The pile of letters in question were the letters sent out to all magical children shortly before their 11th Birthday advising them of their acceptance into Hogwarts. These letters came in two parts. The first were for the children raised in the magical world. They simply advised the parents of acceptance, along with a list of supplies with a note saying that the book list would be sent out sometime in July. The others were for those magical children who had been raised in the muggle world. This letter simply advised them of the child's acceptance into the school, without giving any details, and made arrangements for one of the professors to pay them a visit to explain the offer in more detail.

The reason that Minerva was more excited than usual, is because that this was the year that Harry Potter, the famous Boy-Who-Lived, would be receiving his letter in anticipation of his attending Hogwarts the following September. She went through the list before the school year started in case there were some muggle born students who had birthdays early in the school year.

She had already discovered that there was one Muggle born who had a birthday in September so she needed to make early preparations for the visit.

She was going rapidly through the pile of letters and reached the bottom without finding the one for young Mr Potter. Frowning slightly, she started at the top and worked her way through the pile again. And again she came up empty. Frowning again, she decided there must be some error.

"Mipsy!" She called out in her distinctive Scottish brogue.

Seconds later there as a 'pop' and a house elf, wearing the uniform of Hogwarts with a tartan sash, appeared in front of her.

"Mistress Kitty calls on Mipsy?" The little elf asked.

"Yes Mipsy. I have been going through the letters that are due to begin being sent out for next year's students and there appears to be one missing. There should be a letter for Harry Potter in this pile but I cannot find it. Do you remember seeing one?" She asked.

"Yes Mistress Kitty." The elf replied. "There is a letter for the great Harry Potter but I is not finding any address so I's cannot put it in an envelope." It added, looking rather nervous.

"No address?" Minerva repeated. "Get me the book at once Mipsy and bring me the letter. I need to look into this immediately." She ordered.

The elf bowed and disappeared with another 'pop'. Seconds later it reappeared carrying a large leather bound tome and a piece of parchment that proved to be Harry Potter's Hogwarts letter. And as Mipsy had said, there was no address.

Minerva took them both.

"Thank you Mipsy. You may return to your other duties." She said, nodding to the elf.

Mipsy bowed again and popped away without further comment.

Minerva put the letter down and opened the large book and began leafing through the pages. Soon she found the page she was looking for and her face went white.

Deciding there could be no delay in letting the headmaster know of this, she got up. And picking up the book and the letter, she left her office and headed to the office of the Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore.

Soon she arrived at the statue of the Gargoyle on the third floor.

"Liquorice Allsorts!" She announced and the statue moved, as the stairs began to rise.

Climbing on, she rose with the stairs until they stopped moving. She them climbed the rest of the bay and ended up standing in front of a wooden door.

She was about to knock when she heard 'Come in' from the inside. Opening the door, she entered and walked up to the large ornate desk that dominated the room.

Albus Dumbledore was seated behind the desk, looking up at her with a twinkle in his eye. He was also tall but looked a good deal older than his Deputy and had a long white beard that almost hit the floor when he stood up. He had a fondness for brightly coloured robes and was wearing one with stars and moons in various colours today.

"Ah Minerva." He said in his grandfatherly tone. "What brings you here on this fine day? Lemon drop?" He asked, holding out a dish containing the sweets.

"No thank you Albus." She replied, shaking her head in response to the offer. "I need to talk to you as we have a problem." She added.

"Very well then, please take a seat." Dumbledore said, putting the dish back on his desk.

"Thank you." Minerva responded, sitting in one of the comfy chars facing the desk.

"So what is this problem and how can I help?" He asked, popping one of the Lemon Drops on his tongue.

"Well you know that every year on this day, I go through all the letters that are to be sent out ready for next year's intake?" She asked.

"I do indeed." He replied. "I remember you being especially keen for this year as a certain Mr Potter is due to attend." He paused as he sucked in his sweet. "That reminds me, who have you scheduled to go and see him?" He asked.

"My original plan was that I would do it. After all, I was there when you left him on that doorstep, it seems only proper that I be the one to welcome him back. However there is a problem!"

"Another one Minerva. Well they do say that these things come in threes." He smiled serenely back at her. "And there is no need for you to do it. I think I will send Hagrid, after all he should know the basics, he will just need showing to Diagon Alley so he can buy his supplies." He paused again as he picked up another sweet. "So what are these problems you have come to tell me of?"

"There is actually only one problem and it concerns Mr Potter's letter." Minerva paused to make sure she presented the problem clearly to the clearly eccentric Headmaster. She wondered, not for the first time, if it was time for him to step down as he was clearly going dotty in his old age. "We will be unable to send Mr Potter's letter out as we have no address to send it to!"

"What?" Albus nearly choked on the Lemon Drop he was sucking. "What do you mean there is no address? What does the Book say?" She asked.

"Mr Potter's name is clearly listed in the Book." Minerva replied, opening the huge volume to the correct page and turning it round to show the old man. "But there is no address listed! I have never come across this before. What does it mean?" She asked.

"Well he is obviously still alive, otherwise there would be a date of death listed." Albus said in a puzzled voice.

"And we would be in a whole heap of trouble!" Minerva muttered. "I told you we should not have left him there Albus. Heavens knows what those muggles did to him." She added.

"This clearly needs to be looked into." Dumbledore said. "I of course have made sure he was kept an eye on so we will go and speak to Mrs Figg, she should be able to tell us more." He smiled and getting up from his desk, went over to his fireplace. He took a handful of Floo powder from a jar on the mantelpiece and threw it into the flames. "Figgs House of Cats!" He intoned and stepped into the flames.

Minerva quickly followed him and she soon found herself in a very muggle looking sitting room that smelt very strongly of cabbage and Cats. Even though she was a cat Animagus herself, she found the smell rather overpowering.

Looking about, Minerva found Albus standing next to a small woman in a tatty dressing gown with her greying hair in rollers under a hair net.

"This is Mrs Figg." Albus said to Minerva, indicating the smaller woman. She is the Squib that I tasked with keeping an eye on Mr Potter.

"Mrs Figg." Minerva nodded at the other woman. "So where is Harry Potter?" She asked.

"That is what I have been trying to tell him." She woman stammered. "I don't know where he is. I haven't seen him in nearly 6 years."

Minerva gasped. _'6 years!'_ She thought to herself. _'Merlin knows what could have happened to him in that time!'_ She decided that they needed the whole story.

"Why don't we all sit down?" She said, indicating the sofa that was liberally covered in cat hair. "Then you can tell us the whole story from the beginning." She said to Mrs Figg.

The other woman nodded and sat on the single chair. Minerva then gingerly sat on the sofa and Albus perched next to her.

"Whenever you are ready Mrs Figg?" Minerva asked, she was getting more and more nervous.

Mrs Figg nodded and after shuffling about a bit, bean her tale.

"Albus came to me about a week after the events of that Halloween and asked me to keep an eye on Harry and let him know what went on. I was not to interfere, just provide him with information." She paused as she wriggled again. "Anyway, I did not see young Harry for ages after then. I would sometimes see that Aunt of his, Petunia, pushing a rather fat baby in a pushchair. This was not him as he looked nothing like either of the Potters and she kept calling him Dudykins. The first time I saw him, he must have been about 2 years old. I was walking past the house when a dog began barking and the door flew open and this small boy with messy black hair and the greenest eyes I have ever seen ran out of the door chased by a snarling bulldog. He tried to hide behind a bush but the dog tried to get at him until he smelled me. Or rather my cats. He them came straight at me and hat to beat him off with my bag. There was a shout from inside and the dog immediately ran back indoors. I was about to go over to where Harry was still hiding when this huge walrus of a man, who I now know to be Vernon Dursley, came out the house and forcibly dragged Harry back in. He glared at me before slamming the door behind them." She paused.

Minerva gasped at this, but could not think of anything to say.

"I saw Harry on the odd occasion over the next couple of years, usually when he was weeding the front garden. I would try and talk to him, but he would always shy away." She paused again. "Things came to a head when he started school. He was so small, far too young I thought as he was only just 4 when it happened. Anyway, he had been at school about three weeks when one day I heard sirens and saw several police cars pull out outside number 4. Not long later, both Vernon and Petunia were led out in handcuffs and taken away. The fat boy, I think his name was Dudley, was also taken away. I never saw Harry after that. The police spoke to everyone on the street and I told them what I had seen." She stopped and took a drink of what looked like cold tea.

"Do you have any idea what happened to Harry?" Minerva asked, trying to piece together what might have happened and earing the worse.

Mrs Figg shook her head.

"The police didn't tell me anything. But from what I read in the papers some months later, there were clearly doing something not right!"

"What did you read?" Minerva asked, feeling faint.

"I saved the paper, you can read it yourself." Mrs Figg replied, getting up and retrieving an old newspaper from an overflowing cupboard.

Minerva took the muggle paper and looked at the banner headline.

 **Child Abuse Couple get Lengthy Prison Sentence.**

 _At Croydon Crown Court today, Vernon and Petunia Dursley were both found guilty of child neglect, assault of a child and child endangerment. In addition, Mr Dursley was also found guilty of assaulting a police officer and resisting arrest. Petunia Dursley (30), has been sentenced to 15 years in jail and Vernon Dersley (34), has been sentenced to 25 years. All these charges relate to their treatment of their Nephew, who cannot be named for legal reasons and is now in the care of Social Services. They have a child, Dudley Dursley, who is now in the care of his Aunt, his Fathers' Sister. But Social Services will be keeping an eye on them for the foreseeable future to ensure the boy is well treated._

 _The court was sickened when it was revealed that the Nephew had been forced to sleep in the cupboard under the stairs and would receive numerous beatings, as evidenced by the many scars on his back and arms. This foul treatment only came to light when the Nephew's school teacher noticed that the boy winced when touched and caught a glimpse of the scars. She immediately called Social Services, who in turn called the police. This teacher, a Sarah Peacock (24), has been lauded for her quick thinking and has received an award for her actions that undoubtedly saved the young man's life. When interviewed by this reporter, she only had this to say._

 _'_ _I became a teacher to ensure the children under my care get the best start in life as I can give them. This includes their health and it is my duty to report it if I feel abuse is happening. As far as I am concerned, there was nothing else for me to do!'_

 _This reporter agrees with her and hopes that all teachers will take this example to heart. And wherever the Nephew is now, we wish him a speedy recovery and hope he finds a loving family to give him the life he has thus far been denied._

Minerva finished reading with tears in her eyes. She looked up at Mrs Figg.

"Why are we only hearing about this now?" She demanded. "If you are supposed to be keeping an eye on him, why did you not tell Albus at the time?"

"I did!" Stammered Mrs Figg. "As requested, I reported everything that happened and sent it to Albus on at least a monthly basis. I sent the last report when I saw the article you just read as I have heard nothing since, apart from the house being sold."

"Albus?" Minerva looked at the Headmaster in surprise.

"I must have forgotten." He replied. "We will return to Hogwarts now and see what must be done."

He got up and went over to the fireplace and in a flash of flame was gone.

Minerva nodded at Mrs Figg and followed Albus back to his office.

Once they were both back, Minerva looked at Albus.

"Well what are we going to do?" She asked. "We need to find him but how? You have even less experience in the muggle world than I do. And I don't even know where to start."

"Let's not rush things Minerva." Albus said serenely. "We have plenty of time. After all, he is not 11 until the end of July."

"Yes but given who he is, we need to get people who know what to look for on this. We need to call the DMLE. In fact I should call Amelia directly. She will know what to do!"

"Let us not be so hasty." Albus replied, not wanting anyone else to know how badly they has screwed up. "We should try and sort this ourselves first before calling for help."

"Do you know what to do?" She asked, seeing that Albus was trying to save his own neck.

"All I need is time Minerva. I ask that you give me that before we rush into anything. Will you give me this?" He asked, not wanting to demand as his Deputy could be stubborn if she got the bit between her teeth.

Minerva thought for a minute.

"I will give you one month Albus. If you have not managed to locate Mt Potter by October 1st then I will call Amelia myself and inform her of the situation." She paused before continuing. "If you need anything else from me, please do not hesitate to ask.

Albus smiled as if he had won a great victory. After all, he could always obliviate her if he needed to later. It was not like he had not done so before.

"Of course. Now, with regarding next year's intake. Are there any visits that need doing before Halloween?" He asked, changing the subject.

Minerva sighed. Realizing that she was not going to get anything else discussed with regard to Harry Potter at present, she nodded.

"Just one. I have a muggle born whose birthday is 19th September. The initial letter will go out in a weeks' time and I will look to visit her on the Saturday before her birthday, the 15th. Then maybe arrange the trip to Diagon Alley on the 22nd."

"Excellent. Do you have the name?"

Minerva nodded, looking at the envelope at the top of the pile.

"Yes here it is. Miss Hermione Granger.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

15th Sept 1990 – Granger House, Crawley, West Sussex

Things had not exactly been normal for the Grangers since their eldest Daughter Hermione had received the strange letter by owl on the Wednesday morning before she and her sister left for school. They had read the letter over breakfast and the two girls had discussed it on the way to school. Their Parents, Dan and Emma, had also discussed it at length on the way the dental practice they owned and over lunch.

After dinner that evening, they had talked about it as a family and decided to reply using the owl that was just hanging around and arranged for this Professor McGonagall to come at 10 am on the Saturday.

Now that Saturday had arrived, both the Granger parents were waiting in the living room while Hermione and her Sister waited in their bedroom.

Dan, who had short dark hair and brown eyes, was over 6 foot tall and well-built, but with surprising dexterity, was pacing up and down the floor and looking at his watch while his wife, Emma, sat on the sofa reading the newspaper. Emma was a petite woman with a mass of brown curls that framed an oval shaped face and hazel eyes that glowed more greenly when she was thinking hard about something. She looked up at her husband and shook her head.

"Will you calm down Dan? She'll be here when she gets here! It's not helping if you can't keep calm. How are the girls going to be calm if you are not?" She asked. She then got up and went up the stairs and knocked on the girls' room.

Seconds later, the door opened to reveal a bushy haired brunette who was clearly the Emma's daughter.

"Is she here yet Mum?" The girl asked breathlessly.

"Not yet. I just wanted to make sure you are both ready. Oh and Hermione, has your Sister taken her Lithium today? All this excitement could cause an episode if she doesn't!"

"But it makes me feel wrong!" Came a voice from inside.

"I know it does sweetheart." Emma replied. "But I want you to stay calm today as we do not know what this meeting is about."

There was a grumbling from inside.

"I'll make sure she takes it Mum. But just to be safe, I'll stay up here until we are called for." Hermione said.

Emma nodded and headed back downstairs where she found her husband had resumed his pacing.

Not long later, precisely at 10am, the doorbell rang.

Dan went to the front door and opened it. Outside Professor McGonagall was standing, wearing a long dress and tall hat.

"Mr Granger?" She asked in a Scottish accent.

"Professor McGonagall?" Dan asked in reply.

"That's me." She replied briskly, though not unkindly.

"Please come in." He said, standing back to allow the tall woman past him and into the hallway.

Minerva entered the house and stood a few paces inside while Dan closed the door and indicated the room on their left.

"If you will go onto the living room, we can talk in there." He said.

Minerva nodded and went through into the bright, comfy room where Emma was standing waiting to greet her.

"Professor, I'm Dan Granger and this is my Wife Emma. We are Hermione's Parents. I must say you letter has caused a bit if a stir as we do not remember even applying to your school. If you will take a seat, maybe you can let us know a bit more about it. We have tried doing research but we have not found anything. I even called a friend in the Department for Education and they had never even heard of your school." Dan said, making the introductions.

"Thank you Mr Granger." Minerva replied, sitting quite comfortably on one of the chairs. "I'm not surprised that you have not been able to find out about our school as it is not listed anywhere that I am aware of. We are a very select school and we only accept pupils who show a particular gift. We believe your Daughter has such a gift, which is why the invitation was extended. The reason I am here is to confirm she has it and to explain the details and what attending our school will entail."

"I suppose it is a boarding school?" Emma asked.

"It is. The school year starts on 1st September and runs through to the end of June. Pupils can of course come home for the Christmas holidays if they wish, though we do have some who stay with us over the holiday. The same is true for the Easter break, though less return home then." Minerva paused, looking concerned. "Will this be a problem?" She asked.

"Quite likely. You see both our Daughters are very close. They share a room and do almost everything together. I don't suppose there is a chance you could take Hermione's Sister too?" Emma asked, getting worried at this point.

"I'm afraid that is unlikely. You see before I came here today, I checked our list and there is no other child who lives here that qualifies. I take it that your other Daughter is younger that Hermione?" Minerva asked, having met this problem before.

"Technically I suppose you could say that she is younger, as her birthday is not till next summer. Though for educational purposes, they are in the same class and are almost identical academically." Dan replied to this with a smile as he was proud of both his girls. "So what is it that makes Hermione special? I mean different from her Sister?" He asked.

Minerva, having plenty of practice at this, fell back on her usual method answering it with a question.

"Tell me Mr Granger. Has Hermione ever done anything you can't explain? Especially when she is upset, scared or cross?" She asked.

Dan thought about this. He then looked at his wife who nodded.

"I will tell you, but you must promise to keep it to yourself." He said to Minerva.

"You have my word Mr Granger." Minerva replied.

"Very well then." He paused, not being used to discussing this with anyone other than his wife. "When Hermione was younger, she used to break things when she got cross or upset. Things like mirrors, drinking glasses and even the window to my garden shed. We never knew how she did it. We just knew that there was a connection with her outburst and the breakages. Do you know what caused it?" He asked hopefully.

"I do, but it would be better if Hermione was here when we discussed this further." Minerva replied.

"I'll get her in a minute Professor." Emma replied. I just want to know what this thing is before we either decide to ask you to leave or fetch the girls down. We will not leave our other Daughter out if this. She may not have the gift that Hermione does, but you can be sure that everything Hermione knows, she will tell her Sister."

Minerva thought for a second.

"Magic." She replied.

"Pull the other one!" Dan replied.

"I'm being serious Mr Granger." Minerva replied.

"Rubbish. There is no such thing as magic. You have tricks yes, illusions. But magic itself does not exist." Dan retorted.

"Would you allow me to demonstrate?" Minerva asked.

"Go ahead!" Dan replied. "This should be interesting." He added.

Minerva reached inside her robes and pulled out her wand. Looking around, she spied a footstool and muttering some words, waved her wand in a complicated motion and turned the stool into a chocolate Labrador puppy.

Dan and Emma watched in amazement as the little dog ran around for a short while before Minerva changed it back to a footstool.

"I trust that is proof enough?" She asked, looking pointedly at Dan.

Dan shrugged.

"I suppose so. So you're saying Hermione could do this?" He asked.

"Not yet," Minerva replied. "That is part of what she would learn at our school. By the time she graduates, she will know this and much more. Starting of course with the basics."

"Hang on a minute." Emma interrupted. "Are you saying that the outbursts that Hermione had are proof that she can do magic?"

Minerva nodded.

"I will have to test her to be certain, but yes that is generally the case." She paused. "But I must warn you, there is a strict Statute of Secrecy around magic. Before your Daughter can attend our school, or even get her supplies I must have your signature to guarantee that you will keep this all secret or your memories will be modified so you do not remember this."

"Well that explains why no-one has ever heard of it before." Dan remarked. He then stopped and turned to Emma.

Emma looked back at her husband and nodded.

"Exactly." She replied. "Professor, you know you said you have no record of anyone else being able to do magic in this house?"

Minerva nodded.

"Yes." She paused. "Why?"

Emma smirked in response.

"Because." She replied. "Our other Daughter has had the same incidents. Only they are worse because of her emotional problems."

Minerva paled at this.

"Are you sure?" She asked. "When did they begin?" She asked.

"The moment she arrived. So she would have been about 4 1/2 at the time and they happened off and on until she was about 9 and the medication settled her emotions down." Emma replied.

"She arrived at 5?" Minerva sked, clearly puzzled by this remark.

"Yes. Our youngest Daughter is adopted." Dan replied. "Is that a problem?"

"No. But it may be the answer as to why we did not know about it. You see if an adoption happens in the muggle world." She began.

"Muggle?" Dan asked.

"Sorry." Minerva replied. "It is a term used by magical people to refer to non-magical people."

"Sounds like some sort of slur!" Dan muttered.

"I admit it is not very flattering." Minerva said. "But it is the most polite term that is used. Some of the others are downright offensive." She paused. "Anyway, as I was saying. If a magical child is adopted in the muggle world, we may not have records of it. Do you happen to know if your Daughter's name was changed before her adoption?" She asked.

Emma nodded.

"It was. But please do ask us what it was or use it in any way. If our Daughter hears it, she gets very upset." She replied.

"Of course." Minerva responded. "Well unless you have any more questions, it might be best to get both your girls down so I can test them both. I am not guaranteeing that your other Daughter has the gift as well, but I will test her and we will go from there. I will probably need to know her birth name so I can look to see if she has any records. But I will not use it to address her in any way if I can help it."

Dan thought for a minute.

"We will let you know her birth name by giving it to you on a piece of paper. All we ask is that you discuss anything you need with us in private first before you bring it up in front of the girls. Do you agree to this?" She asked.

Minerva nodded her head.

"I do. That way if I need information I can ask for it without causing any problems."

Emma smiled.

"Right, I'll go and get the girls." She said, getting out of her chair and heading up the stairs.

She then knocked on her Daughter's bedroom door. This time her younger Daughter answered. She looked a bit jittery, but calmer than Emma expected.

"I need you both downstairs." She said. "And remember, best behaviour!" She added.

Her Daughter nodded and turned to her Sister.

"Come on Mya. Let's go and see what this Professor wants."

The two girls exited the room and headed down the stairs behind Emma. She led them into the living room where Minerva had risen to her feet to greet the two girls.

Minerva was smiling as she saw Emma then as she stood aside to allow the girls to enter, all colour drained from Minerva's face as she saw the two children.

Emma did not notice. She was busy introducing her Daughters.

"Professor McGonagall, these are our Daughters. Hermione and Lilly." She turned and smiled at the girls. "Introduce yourselves!" She added.

Hermione, a miniature version of her Mother, stepped forward first.

"Pleased to meet you Professor. I'm Hermione Jean Granger." She extended her hand.

Minerva, almost on autopilot, shook Hermione's hand, but was staring at the other girl.

As Hermione stepped aside, the other girl, a slim red-head with emerald green eyes, timidly stepped forward.

"Please to meet you too Professor. I'm Lily. Lily Evans-Granger."

At the mention of the name, Minerva's brain went into overload. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she passed out on the living room floor.

Lily looked as if she might cry at what happened. Hermione, recognising the signs, wrapped her Sister up in a big hug and Emma shepherded them back up to their room.

"What happened, is she going to be alright?" Lily asked in barely above a whisper.

"She just fainted Lil." Emma replied. "I'm sure it was nothing you did, she was probably just shocked. Now I want you both to wait here until I come and get you. Alright."

"Yes Mum." Both girls replied.

Emma closed the door and made her way back to the living room where Minerva was awake and sitting on a chair. She looked sternly at the older woman.

"Would you mind telling me what the hell is going on?" Emma demanded. "I have a younger Daughter who is on the verge of tears because she thinks that she did something to you."

Minerva looked up rather shakenly at the younger woman.

"Please tell me I did not imagine that?" She asked in a quivering voice. "I just saw a young red-head who identified herself as Lily Evans."

Both Emma and Dan nodded.

"You did." Dan confirmed. "That is our youngest Daughter." He added.

"I apologise for my behaviour." Minerva said, her voice getting stronger. "It is just I thought for a moment that I was dreaming. You see I knew another Lily Evans. I met her, in a similar situation to this, nearly 20 years ago now. She died in rather tragic circumstances almost 9 years ago." She paused as trying to gather her thoughts. "I'm afraid I am going to need her birth name. I need to know if she is a relation of Lily or if this is just a coincidence." She finished, looking at both Dan and Emma.

Dan turned and looked at Emma and they appeared to have a whole conversation in just a glance. Eventually he nodded. Then he went over to the coffee table, picked up a pen and pad and scribbled two words on the top sheet before tearing it off and handing it to Minerva.

"That is Lily's birth name. But I re-iterate that you cannot discuss it in front of her. If you find that you cannot do that, then I will ask you to leave." He said with a serious look on his face.

Minerva took the sheet of paper. Then, taking a deep breath she looked at it. For a second, her heart stopped. Then her eyes focussed and she looked once more at the simple piece of lined paper and the two words written there.

 **Harry Potter**

Minerva blindly felt behind her for the chair. Dan, seeing her almost falling over, stepped up and guided her down onto it.

"Can I get you a drink?" Emma asked. "How about a cup of Tea?"

Minerva nodded and Emma left the room.

Dan looked at Minerva and gave a sort of half-smile.

"You weren't expecting that were you?" He asked.

"That is possible the biggest understatement ever Mr Granger." Minerva replied. "That is not to say it is unwelcome." She added, seeing the man's face cloud over.

"What do you mean by that?" Dan asked in some surprise.

"Well, we have been searching for this child for several weeks after we discovered he was missing." Minerva responded.

Dan raised his hand to stop her before she could get any further.

"Before we go any more into this, and I expect you have many questions. Let me get one thing straight. When you are referring to Lily you either use her name, Lily. Or at least by female pronouns. She, her, hers etc. Even if you are referring to what she went by previously. This will save not only confusion, but will also protect Lily's emotional wellbeing." He paused. "I must insist on this. I also want to know now if this is going to cause any problems."

Minerva gave the ghost of a smile at that remark.

"Unfortunately there are going to be a long stream of problems." She replied. "You see, this name." She waved the piece of paper. "Is probably the best known name in the magical world and is otherwise known as the Boy-Who-Lived. I will give you the basic story as you probably don't know it. If that is alright?" She asked.

"It is probably best if you wait for Emma to return so you don't have to tell it twice. But in answer to your other remark, we do have a version of what happened to Lily's birth parents. But due to the source, we are not certain if it is reliable." Dan replied.

Before Minerva could respond, the door opened and Emma entered with a pot of tea, mugs and a plate of biscuits.

Dan looked at the biscuits in some surprise but chose not to say anything.

Emma poured the tea and Minerva accepted a cup.

"The reason this name is so well known is that in 1981, one of the most evil wizards to have ever existed was hunting down the witches and wizards who opposed him. Two in particular, James and Lily Potter, had gone into hiding with their only child. Lily Potter had been the Lily Evans I told you about earlier. On Halloween of that year, they were betrayed by a close friend and murdered in their own house. They also attempted to kill their son Harry. But somehow he survived."

Both the Grangers winced at this. Both from the use of Lily's birth name and from the tragic circumstances of the death.

"In the wake of this." Minerva continued. "Their child was brought to his closest relatives."

"The Dursleys!" Spat Dan, a horrible scowl on his face.

"Indeed. Petunia Dursley was Lily Potters' older Sister and it was deemed best that he stay with family."

"Did no one think of checking up?" Dan demanded, getting angry now. "At least that is better than what we were told. Killed in a car crash! They also claimed Lily was dumped on their doorstep in the middle of the night with nothing but a note. Is that how it happened?"

Minerva had the good sense to look ashamed and could not meet Dan's eyes.

"I see." He said gruffly. "If this is how you treat orphans, why the hell should I trust you with both my Daughters education for the next 7 years?"

Minerva looked up and saw that both Grangers were looking intently at her, obviously waiting for an answer. She looked Dan in the eyes, determined not to let them down as she could see it would not take much for them to just walk away.

"That action was done against my advice and I was assured not once, but many times over the years, that Har.. I mean Lily was well cared for and in a loving home." She replied.

"So who was it then, that not only dumped a child only just over a year old on a doorstep, but failed to keep an eye on them and lied about it when asked?" Dan demanded, softening a little.

"His name is Albus Dumbledore…" Minerva started to respond before she was interrupted.

"The HEADMASTER of your school?" Emma almost screamed.

"Yes." Minerva replied. "I cannot defend his actions as I don't know his reasoning for them. As to the lying, I'm not sure that he actually lied. He more than likely just assumed. But again I don't have all the facts."

Dan and Emma looked at each other, having another one of their conversations at a glance. Dan then turned to Minerva.

"You need to know that Lily still suffers from health issues to this day. She is on several medications to keep her emotionally stable and relatively healthy. These can all be traced back to the Dursleys and by extension, to your Headmaster."

"What illnesses are these?" Minerva asked, appalled that their actions had cost the saviour of the wizarding world their health.

"Lily is diagnosed as Bi-Polar. Do you know that that is?" Emma asked.

"Not really. I think it is severe mood swings. Is that right?" Minerva asked.

Emma nodded.

"Basically yes. It is more complicated and serious than that, but that is essentially what it is."

"I see. Is there anything else?" Minerva asked nervously.

Emma nodded again.

"Lily is an Epileptic, she has Attention Deficit Disorder and she is mildly Dyslexic." Emma reeled off the condition that her youngest Daughter had to deal with on a daily basis.

Minerva gasped.

"How do you cope?" She asked.

Dan frowned.

"We cope because she is our Daughter!" He replied, pausing before continuing. "It is clear you want both Lily and Hermione at your school. Is that correct?" He asked.

Minerva nodded vehemently.

"Yes indeed." She replied. "I'm not sure what would happen if Lily did not attend Hogwarts next year, but the fallout would be catastrophic. As it is there are bound to be a lot of people who will have their own opinions. There will probably some bigotry and bulling. And there will be some who will, no doubt, attempt to force you make Lily change back!"

Dan pursed his lips together to try and stop his anger from overloading. Emma merely shook her head.

"That is not going to happen." She responded with more than a trace of anger in her tone. "Not only do we hold all the cards here, but Lily is a force of nature herself. With Hermione behind her they will hit your world so hard you won't know whether you are coming or going." She finished with a smirk in her face.

"So what happens now?" Dan asked after they had all finished their tea.

"Now I will need to see the girls. Hopefully this time I will not pass out and I will be able to explain the details to you all." Minerva replied.

"I'll go." Emma said, giving Dan a look before heading out into the hall and up the stairs.

Dan fixed Minerva with a look.

"I am giving you one more chance at this. Mess up again and you will be thrown out. Understand?" He growled.

"I understand Mr Granger. But you will have to forgive me if I make a few mistakes. They will be unintentional I assure you." She replied.

Dan nodded.

"Those sort of mistakes we can forgive. Provided you are at least trying."

They waited in silence until the door opened again and Emma led the two girls in again.

Minerva looked at Lily in amazement. The little girl resembled her birth Mother greatly. Which surprised the old Witch as the few times she had seen baby Harry, he had looked a lot like his father, except his eyes. Those were his mothers. It was the eyes that caught Minerva's attention this time too. They told of a lifetime's pain, but courage and hope along with more than a spark of intelligence. Once they were all seated, Minerva began to speak.

"While I know it was only you Hermione that has received a letter, I have since discovered that you Lily should also be on our list. In order to confirm this, I want you both to take this and give it a wave." She took her wand out and handed towards Hermione, who shrank back nervously.

Lily on the other hand, reached out and took it. Shrugging, she gave it a wave which caused one of the cups to shatter.

Lily looked about to burst into tears when Minerva took the wand back.

"Don't worry my dear. It's easy to fix!" She said and with another wave of her wand, the cup was as good as new.

"Wow!" Lily gasped. "What was that? Will I be able to do that?" She asked.

"That my dear, was magic. And I have no doubt you will be able to do that one day. That was a basic repair spell, one taught in 1st year at Hogwarts. You will have to get your own wand and learn how to perform it. But it is safe to say you will be able to learn it without too much difficulty."

"Magic!" Lily said in wonder, then she turned to Hermione. "Your turn Mya." She insisted, taking the wand back from Minerva and placing it in Hermione's hand. "Go on. Give it a wave."

Hermione looked decidedly unwell as she waved the wand. She did not break the cup, but she did knock it over. She then almost threw the wand back at Minerva.

"Do you have any books I can read?" Hermione asked, causing Lily to giggle. "I learn better when I read up on it!" She said earnestly.

"I can give a list of books that you can read, on everything from the magical world, spells, history and even on the school." Minerva replied, pulling a piece of parchment from inside her robes and handing it to the young girl.

"All is now right with the world." Piped up a still giggling Lily. "Mya has got a reading list and we get to go shopping!"

Hermione gave her Sister a shove. This caused Lily to poke her tongue out.

"Girls!" Dan said in a firm voice.

Immediately both the girls were sitting up straight, hands in their laps and with butter wouldn't melt expressions on their faces.

"I see I'm going to have to watch the pair of you!" Minerva remarked.

"You can try." Dan added. "You won't ever catch them, but you can try!"

"I resent that Daddy!" Lily said.

"You can resent it all you like Lily-Flower. That doesn't mean it's not true!" He replied.

"So what happens now?" Hermione asked, changing the subject.

"Well normally, I would arrange to escort you both to Diagon Alley where you can get your school supplies. However, since it is almost a year away, I would not recommend buying anything yet. However, there is a book shop there where you will be able to find all the books on the list and that will help you both prepare for the school." She paused before continuing. "However, before we get to that I will need to inform the Headmaster and several others of the current situation. And no doubt, they will want to meet you both to discuss this further." She then turned to Dan and Emma. "When would be the best time?" She asked.

This time it was Emma that spoke up.

"As soon as possible works for us. Saturdays and Sundays are best as the girls are out almost every evening." She replied.

"Would tomorrow work?" Minerva asked, knowing there would be a lot that needed to be discussed and the sooner that they got started, the better for her nerves.

"We are not busy tomorrow. When will you be able to let us know by?" Emma asked.

"I am able to get back to the castle in minutes. And I will speak to the Headmaster immediately upon my arrival. If he agrees, I will send a note to you by owl, which should arrive some time later today."

"Very well. We will await to hear from you if you can make it tomorrow. Is there anything else you wanted to discuss?" Emma asked.

Minerva took a pile of leaflets out of her robes and handed them over. Emma took them and glanced over them.

"If you will give these a read, they do not say much but they may answer a few questions. If there is anything you specifically want to know, please write it down and don't hesitate to ask." Minerva said before getting up. "I must get going now, I will let you know when I will be returning. If there are any issues, please send a note by the owl."

"Of course." Dan replied. "We shall, no doubt, be seeing you soon." He added, getting up himself he showed Minerva out and headed back into the living room.

"Well what did you think of that?" She asked the others.

"I think I've got a load of questions and not many answers!" Hermione said.

Lily nodded in agreement.

"This is going to drag up the past isn't it Daddy?" She asked, leaning in her Father.

Dan could only nod as he put his arm round her.

"I'm afraid so." He replied. "But we'll get through it together." He looked up and nodded at Emma. "What say we clear up, the jump in the car and run down to Brighton?" He asked. "I might even spring to fish and chips in the seafront!"

The squeals of both girls gave him his answer. So the four of them cleared away the tea things and were soon in the car heading the 20 miles south to Brighton.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

15th Sept 1990 – Hogwarts Castle.

Minerva had apparated to Hogsmede and was now walking up to the castle, still deep in thought about what she had discovered. She walked into the great hall and find that lunch was nearly over. She looked at the throne like chair in the middle of the staff table and saw it was empty. So she headed up to the third floor and took the stairs up to the Headmasters office.

When she arrived, the door was opened and Minerva saw that Albus was speaking to the Head of Slytherin house, Severus Snape. Albus looked up and saw her standing there and waved her in.

"Ah Minerva. How did the first visit go? Is the child sufficiently impressed with the magical world?" He asked.

"I wouldn't go that far Albus." She remarked dryly. "Though I did manage find an answer to the problem we discussed a couple of weeks ago."

"And what problem was that?" Albus asked serenely.

"The location of Harry Potter!" She replied.

"Prince Potter!" Severus smirked. "Getting ready to lord it over us I imagine, just as his father did!"

"I doubt that most severely." Minerva responded. "But then I don't suppose that Albus told you of the abuse he went through!"

"Abuse? What lies have you been fed Minerva?" Severus snarled back.

"The information fed to us by the woman tasked to keep an eye on him and that fact his uncle and aunt were both arrested and sent to prison on charges of abuse to a 4 year old." She paused as Severus' face went even more pallid than usual. "I have also spoken to his adoptive parents and they have nothing but contempt for the Dursleys either. I have also been informed of the myriad of health issues that the child continues to suffer from to this day. We are liable for this Albus. We need to get Poppy to take a look to see if there is anything we can do!"

"Absolutely." Dumbledore replied. "Now where is he, and will it be possible to get him back with his Aunt and Uncle?"

"Are you insane Albus?" Minerva snapped. "Not only has he spent more years away from his relatives than with them, but there is much you do not know."

"But he will be much safer with them!" He responded mildly. "I may have to make sure they know to treat him properly but it is for the best."

"Not going to happen Albus!" Minerva replied. "Not only have his Aunt and Uncle been in a Muggle prison for the last 6 years, but there are numerous records all over the Muggle world. No. while it might have worked if you had caught it at the time, there is no way you can erase the last 6 years." She paused ready to reveal the rest of the information. "In addition to being adopted, the child no longer goes by the name of Harry Potter." She said, choosing her words carefully.

"What do you mean?" Snape demanded.

"Simple." Minerva responded. "The person you know as Harry Potter does not exist anymore. They now have a different name. In fact they bear no resemblance to the child that we unceremoniously dumped on the Dursley's front porch almost 9 years ago."

"How can that be?" Albus asked, his brow furrowed in thought. "He is still the same person after all. 'A rose by any other name!' And so on. We will just have to make sure that he understands that he must go by the name Harry Potter when he arrives in school." He said with certainty.

Minerva shook her head.

"That won't be happening Albus." She said simply. "The reason is that the person formally known as Harry Potter, now goes by the name of Lily Evans. Or Lily Evans-Granger to give her, her adopted name. She is the adopted Daughter of Mr and Mrs Granger and Sister to Hermione Granger, the muggle born witch that I went to see today."

Albus looked confused at this while Snape went white.

"That is not funny Minerva!" The potions master snapped.

"It was not a joke Severus." Minerva replied. "And before you ask, the child looks the spitting image of her later Mother whose name she shares. I don't know how this came about but we need to proceed carefully. They are the child's legal guardians in the muggle world and as such can deny their attendance to this school. Mr Granger has already made it very clear to me that unless Lily's wishes are respected, both his Daughters will not be attending this school."

"What do suggest we do Minerva?" Albus asked calmly.

"That myself, along with Poppy, you and perhaps Severus here, go and see the Grangers and discuss the matter in more detail. Then you can meet Lily as well as her Sister. We will then iron out the details before I take them to Diagon Alley. They have already expressed an interest in learning more about the wizarding world and I have given them a list of books to read."

"That sounds like a good place to start." Albus replied. "Would you like to accompany us Severus?" He asked.

The potions master thought for a moment before nodding.

"I need to see this for myself. When are you planning to go?" Snape asked.

"As soon as possible." Minerva replied. "The Grangers have already confirmed they are not doing anything tomorrow. Will that be suitable for you both?" She asked.

The two men nodded in agreement, both lost in their own thoughts.

"Excellent." She said. "We'll make it for 10 am tomorrow. I'll speak to Poppy so she can arrange cover if needed." She paused before turning back to the potions master. "It might be wise to bring some potions with you Severus." She added. "While I am sure her family have done their best, there may be some lingering effects. Speak to Poppy yourself as I am sure she will have some thoughts on the matter." She finished with a smile. "Now if you will both excuse me, I will be in my office and will be sending the Grangers a note confirming that we will be with them tomorrow at 10."

With that, Minerva swept out of the office. Leaving two rather befuddled men behind her.

Albus put his head in hands. Snape looked on in surprise.

"Problem Headmaster?" He asked.

"If we cannot rectify the situation Severus." Albus replied. "It will mean the last 10 years have been for nothing. None of the plans will work with a well-adjusted child, let alone a girl! I need to think on this but I cannot act until I know."

"If I were you Headmaster, I would wait until after the meeting tomorrow. That way you will be able ask any questions you need to and get the information from the horses' mouth, so to speak." Snape replied thoughtfully.

"Yes. That is what I will do. I only hope the child will be willing to work with me. And more importantly that the parents are willing to stay out of Hogwarts business." Albus replied.

"Well I will leave you to it Headmaster. I need to go and see Poppy to see if she needs me to brew any potions for tomorrow." Snape said, getting out of his chair and leaving Albus to his thoughts.

As Snape left, Albus leaned back in his chair and tried to think of a solution. He hoped that young Harrys' parents would accept what he said and that soon Harry Potter would be back. For if not, he did not see anything to be done.

Meanwhile Minerva had gone down to the infirmary to see the school healer. She walked in and found the school Matron, Poppy Pomfrey, in her office. As for one the infirmary was empty.

"Ah Poppy. I was wondering if you would be willing to accompany myself, the Headmaster and Professor Snape to visit a prospective student tomorrow?" Minerva asked.

"I don't see a problem in that. I'll give St Mungo's a call and ask them to send someone over to cover me while I'm away." She replied. "Who is it?" She asked curiously.

"Her name is Lily and I suspect she has several medical problems that you may be able to help her with." Minerva replied carefully.

"That's not the full story is it Minerva?" The healer asked.

"No it's not." Minerva replied. "Lily is the name she goes by now but that is not the name she was given at birth."

"I take it the name is famous?" Poppy enquired.

"Yes it is. I will tell you, but only so you know and are prepared." Minerva paused. Unsure how to proceed.

"Well?" Poppy asked.

"Harry Potter!" Minerva stated, watching Poppy for a reaction.

"Harry Potter now goes by the name Lily?" Poppy asked, wanting to be sure. "Do they present as female too?" She continued.

To say Minerva was surprised would be an understatement.

"Yes she does." Minerva replied. "I take it you have knowledge of this?" She asked almost hopefully.

"If it is what I think it is then I know about the condition." Poppy paused before continuing. "The umbrella term is Transgender. It basically means that a person identifies with a different gender to the one they were assigned at birth."

"Assigned? Surely it's clear what gender the baby was?" Minerva asked, confused.

"If you are talking on a purely biological sense then yes, you can easily tell a physical gender apart. However that is not the whole story and it is far more complicated than that." Poppy paused again. "I am by no means an expert but I will consult with one of the experts at St Mungo's when I speak to them to arrange cover."

"So this is not an isolated case?" Minerva asked in shock.

"Good heavens no!" Poppy replied. "According to data from both the Magical and Muggle worlds, between one and five percent of the population do not identify with the gender of their birth. I have never treated one, but I am aware of the work that has gone on."

"Is there anything that can be done?" Minerva asked. "The Headmaster thinks that we need to get the 'real' Harry Potter back."

Poppy gave a harsh laugh at this.

"Then the Headmaster is in more of a delusional state than normal." She replied. "The only way to 'treat' it as you say, is to make the social transition as smooth and as painless as possible. "You say they are already living as a girl?"

"Yes." Minerva replied. Overwhelmed at the information she was receiving. "She identifies as Lily Evans-Granger and looks exactly like her Mother at that age." She paused again as another thought struck her. "Do you know how that could be?" She asked. "Young Harry looked like the spitting image of his father, except for his eyes. But as I said, Lily looks like her Mother and I could see no trace of James. In fact if I had not seen the scar, I would not be certain they were the same person."

"Well, I'm not sure. " Poppy began. "But from cases that I've read about, if a magical child transitions early enough, they can change to look as they may have if they had been born in that gender. I'm unsure if it is a full biological change, or simply a cosmetic one."

"Well if I had not been told otherwise, I would never assume that Lily was anything other than the girl she presented as." Minerva replied slowly. "What did you mean about treatment?" She asked.

"Well, from what you have said, Lily has been living as a girl for some time. This will mean she will need to be treated as a girl in every way. Girls dormitories, changing rooms, uniform etc." Poppy replied.

"That may be a problem. Won't the charms on the girl's stairs prevent a boy from using them?" Minerva asked.

"If she truly identifies as a girl then no they won't. There may be issues with her dorm mates or their parents, in which case we may have to make other arrangements. But the boys' dorms will be out of the question." Poppy said firmly.

Minerva was about to speak again when Snape entered the office. Minerva looked at him and gave a nod.

"If you'll make the arrangements then Poppy, we'll be leaving jest before 10 tomorrow morning."

The healer nodded in response and Minerva made her way towards the owlery to send a letter to the Grangers.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

16th September - Grangers Residence, Crawley, East Sussex.

None of the Grangers had gotten much sleep the night before. Lily's emotions had been stretched and Hermione had spent most of the night trying to keep her Sister calm. Both Dan and Emma knew that Hermione was the best person to help Lily in that situation so they had stayed away, though they had not slept much either since they had received Minerva's note over dinner the previous evening.

Just as the previous day, Lily and Hermione were in their room while Dan and Emma waited in the living room. Both girls were trying to read but neither of them were making any headway. Dan was pacing again and even Emma looked nervous as she sat on the sofa watching the clock.

As before, promptly at 10am, there was a knock at the door. This time Emma went to answer it as she could not sit still long enough to wait for Dan to do it.

Outside there were four people standing. She recognised Minerva from the previous day but the others were unfamiliar to her. One was a tall man with a long white beard and brightly coloured robes. The second was a woman, shorter than Minerva, who had the look of a Nurse that Emma recognised only too well. The final one was a man of average height with black greasy hair that hung in curtains on either side of a face that was dominated by a large hooked nose that resembled a beak from a bird of prey.

Emma nodded and stood back to allow them to enter. Minerva led the way and soon the two Grangers and the four visitors were in the living room with the door firmly closed.

Dan, who had gotten up to meet the visitors, looked at Minerva with a questioning look in his eyes.

Minerva got the message and cleared her throat.

"Mr and Mrs Granger, I would like to introduce you to Poppy Pomfry." She said indicating the healer. "She is the Matron of Hogwarts and in charge of all health related matters. I brought her along so she could examine Lily." She paused as Dan and Emma nodded at the healer with smiles on their faces.

"Please to meet you." Emma said, shaking Poppys' hand. "I hope you can help with Lilys' health issues." She added.

"I'll certainly do my best Mrs Granger." Poppy replied returning the handshake.

"And this is Professor Severus Snape. He teaches potions at Hogwarts and will be responsible for brewing any potions that Lily may require now or in the future." Minerva continues, indicating Snape.

Dan looked at the potions teacher with a look of displeasure on his face, but decided to bite his tongue for the moment.

"Pleasure!" He said, not wanting to say anything else.

Snape scowled at the two Grangers but said nothing.

"And finally the Headmaster of Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore." Minerva finished.

At this Dan glared at the old man and Emma would have slapped him had Dan not put his arm round her waist.

"Easy Love." He said. "Let's give him a chance to explain first." He said softly.

He then turned to Albus and in a tone that matched his expression, he snarled at the Headmaster.

"You've got a lot of nerve coming here! You abandoned a child who was only just over a year old on a doorstep in the middle of the night in November. What kind of sadistic creep does that?" He demanded.

Albus was taken aback by the force of the tone used but he needed to stay to resolve the situation so he decided to try and placate the angry Muggles.

"It was necessary for Harry to be brought up by his relatives. It was the safest place for him to be." He replied mildly, with the tone of one who is always trusted no matter what he says.

"Safe! You call the place Lily was left in safe?" Dan demanded. "Do you call a place where Lily was regularly beaten with a belt or a stick safe? How about a place where she never got more than one or at the very most two miniscule meals a day? What about being locked in a cupboard under the stairs? Or being forced to do chores at all hours of the day and night so her fat lazy Uncle could sit in front of the TV and do nothing? Do you think that any of that was a suitable place for a child to be left?" Dan demanded, his temper getting the better of him. It was now Emma's turn to stop him from hitting the old man.

At these remarks Minerva went white and had to sit down. Snape went paler than usual and for the first time dropped the scowl and looked at the Headmaster in concern.

Albus however was staring serenely at the Grangers. Dan wanted to take that silly smile and wipe it off the old mans' face.

"Now I'm sure it was not as bad as all that. Young Harry was probably exaggerating or even making it up as children are wont to do. Now if you will bring him down here, I'm sure we can get to the bottom of this!" He replied in a calm voice.

"Not quite yet!" Emma spoke up this time, seeing that Dan was so angry he couldn't speak. "Firstly, let me get something straight. There is no Harry in this house. We have two Daughters. Hermione and Lily. If you attempt to address Lily as anything other than either Lily or Miss Evans-Granger, you are unlikely to get an answer from her. Should you call her Harry, you are likely to get a very negative response." She paused. "And then of course there is Hermione. If her sister is upset in any way, Hermione will lay into you like you've never seen."

She paused again, looking around at the group.

"Before we get the girls down here, we need to establish the ground rules!" She paused and fixed Albus with a glare that matched her husbands. "First, as I've said, the girls answer to Lily and Hermione or by their surnames. No other name is to be used. Secondly, Lily as well as Hermione are both to be referred to as girls. There will be no he, him or his. Thirdly what the girls say goes. If they say no, do not try and push the issue. You can try and persuade us but if they refuse, then whatever it is, will not happen. Do you all understand this?" She asked, looking at their four guests.

Albus was puzzled at these remarks so he decided to enquire further.

"Why should I refer to Harry as anything other than Harry? Let alone as a girl. Harry is his name, I should know I was at his naming ceremony, He should get used to the fact!"

Emma rounded on the old man her eyes blazing with fury.

"Lily has been known by that name since before she arrived with us. It is her decision to refer to herself by that name as well as in the feminine context. Who do you think you are to come wading in and tell her differently?"

"I am an adult, as are you. It is our responsibility to guide children and to make sure they know what is and what is not. You have clearly failed in this responsibility. I am Harry's magical guardian and what I say goes!" Albus replied smugly.

Just then the door flew open and in the doorway stood Lily, her green eyes blazing with fury and with an equally annoyed Hermione just behind her. Both girls stormed into the room and Lily stood in front of the Headmaster trembling with anger.

"Magical guardian?" She shouted. "How dare you refer to yourself as my guardian? Guardians check up on their charges yet I saw no sign of you!"

"Now see here…" Albus tried to speak but Lily cut him off.

"Where were you when my Aunt and Uncle called me a Freak? How about the time when they broke my left leg? What about the time when I didn't eat for a week because I could read when I started school and Dudley couldn't? What about the time when Uncle Vernon beat me with a belt for burning the toast or Aunt Petunia hit me with a frying pan for not making the bacon crispy enough?" Lily paused as she recovered her breath. "A proper guardian would check up on their charge yet I never saw you once! You are not my guardian and you never will be!" Lily was almost screaming now and it both Hermione and Emma to hold the near hysterical girl back.

The shock on the face of the four wizards was plane to see. Emma looked at Dan, gave a nod and guided the two girls out of the room. She was back seconds later, closing the door behind her.

She walked over to the Headmaster and shook her head.

"Do you understand now?" She asked.

Albus dropped into a chair and sat staring into space, he could not process what had just happened. Poppy looked worried and was also thinking. However, once the shock had worn off both Snape and Minerva both had smiles of remembrance on their faces.

Dan looked at the pair of them with a question of his own.

"Ok. You two are not behaving as I was expecting. What's going on?" He demanded.

Minerva looked at Snape who nodded for her to speak.

"We were just remembering the other Lily Evans. Your Daughter's biological Mother." Minerva paused. "I was not only her teacher, but I was her Head of House and confidant too. She became estranged from her family not long after starting Hogwarts so I became something of a surrogate Mother figure for her." She paused again. "The way your Daughter behaved just now, is exactly the way her Mother behaved. In particular I was remembering a blazing row between her and Severus here." She indicated Snape. "The whole school became aware of it and nothing was the same again." She finished.

"Why would she be arguing with a teacher?" Emma asked.

"I wasn't a teacher at the time." Snape replied. "I was the same age as your Lilys' Mother and we were in the same year at school, though in different houses." He paused to organise his thoughts. "In fact, I grew up just down the street from Lily and Petunia and I remember several arguments between them as teenagers." He paused again. "That's what shocked me the most. The fact that, with little or no exposure to her biological Mother, she has become, for all intents and purposes, her double!"

Albus was still staring at the wall, not saying anything. Minerva looked at him worriedly.

"I think we'd better get him back to the castle. The three of us can fill him in later." She said.

The other two nodded in agreement. Minerva then turned to face the Grangers.

"Would you object if I summoned a house elf to take the Headmaster back?" She asked.

"Apart from not knowing what an elf is, I have no problem at all." Dan replied.

Minerva nodded again.

"Hoppy!" She called.

Seconds later there was a 'pop' and a small house elf, wearing Hogwarts robes, appeared in the middle of the living room.

"Mistress Kitty calls Hoppy!" The house elf said, bowing to Minerva.

"Yes Hoppy. Please take the Headmaster back to Hogwarts, put him to bed and get him a calming draft." Minerva ordered.

"Yes Mistress Kitty." The elf replied.

It then stepped forward, took one of Albus' hands and with another 'pop' they both vanished.

Once Albus had vanished, Dan looked at their three remaining guests.

"Well you asked for this meeting." He said, still looking rather cross. "What do you need from us?" He asked.

Minerva fidgeted, then cleared her throat.

"Primarily I intended for Madame Pomfry to thoroughly examine Lily and see if there is anything we can do to help her myriad of health issues." She replied.

At this remark, Emma fixed Minerva with a glare.

"I hope you are not including Lilys' gender identity in that remark?" She demanded.

At this, Poppy stepped forward so she was next to Minerva.

"I assure you Mrs Granger, that I have no intent of following the more bigoted members of society and attempt to 'treat' your Daughter." She stated emphatically. "While I have little personal experience in treating Transgender individuals, I have consulted with some experts in the field and I would like to ask some questions if that is permissible?" She asked softly.

This caused both Dan and Emma to look at each other and have one of their silent conversations. They then turned to face the Healer and Emma spoke up.

"Well it makes a change for someone to have done their homework." She replied. "I take it then Lily is not the first magical child to transition?"

Poppy gave her a smile and shook her head.

"I have not treated any Hogwarts student who is Transgender, and I have been Healer at Hogwarts for nearly 50 years." She replied. "However, it was covered as part of my medical training and as soon as Minerva explained the situation, I contacted St Mungo's and consulted with an expert in the field." She elaborated.

"St Mungo's?" Dan and Emma asked at the same time.

"It is the main magical hospital in Great Britain." Poppy replied. "And so I can understand what your Daughter will need when she attends Hogwarts, I will need to clarify a few points." She added.

Emma nodded, but Dan decided to clarify a point of his own.

"Please tell me, why should we entrust your school with the education of our daughters if the Headmaster is at least partially responsible for Lilys' other health issues? There must be other magical schools they can attend. If not in the UK, then abroad?"

All three of the Hogwarts staff looked at each other in panic before Minerva tried to address their concerns.

"I understand your concerns but it really is imperative that Lily attend Hogwarts. We can put measures in place to protect both your Daughters if necessary!" She replied.

"Why?" Dan demanded.

"Why protection?" Minerva enquired. "I would have thought that you would have wanted protection for Lily and Hermione?"

"Not why protection, though if they do attend your school I will certainly demand that. I meant, why do they need to attend your school?" He clarified.

The three staff members exchanged another look before Minerva continued.

"You remember yesterday when I told you that Lilys' birth name is the most famous name in magical Britain?" She asked.

Both the Grangers nodded.

"Well it is equally well known that your Daughter will be attending Hogwarts next September and she will certainly be looked for there. For her not to attend would cause a huge fallout both in Hogwarts in the wider magical Britain." Minerva continued.

"But why does that matter to us?" Dan asked. "Our only concern is the health and wellbeing of our Daughters and you have certainly not made a case for Hogwarts to be the best place for them! For starters, your Headmaster has claimed that he is Lilys' magical guardian! Is this true?" He asked.

"I can't say for certain." Minerva replied. "I would have to check it with the Ministry." She added.

"Ministry?" Dan echoed.

"The Ministry of Magic." Minerva replied. "It is the centre of government for magical Britain. They administer everything involved in magical society. It is led by the Minster of Magic, Cornelius Fudge. Many of the Ministrys' departments liaise with departments within the muggle world, but the interaction is kept to a minimum to preserve the Statute of Secrecy that I told you about yesterday."

Dan nodded in understanding.

"Well if it is the case that your Headmaster is Lilys' magical guardian, I want him removed from that job at once and before anything else happens. Does Hermione have a magical guardian too?" He asked.

"Not at the moment." Minerva replied. "But as soon as the offer to attend Hogwarts is accepted, she will be assigned one."

"And who will it be?" Dan asked.

"It is usually the Headmaster…" Minerva replied, and was about to continue when she was interrupted by Dan.

"That will not be happening!" He replied, his voice level but his tone did not brook argument. "If you want our Daughters to attend your school, and before anything else is decided or agreed on, I want a magical guardian that both my wife and I approve of! And nothing will be signed by us until that point is agreed."

Minerva nodded, completely understanding the Grangers point.

"Would you object if Poppy examines Lily anyway?" She asked. "Even if in the end you decide to send your Daughters elsewhere, we may be able to help with Lilys' other issues." She asked, knowing that they would not get much done until the guardian point is resolved.

This time it was Emma who spoke up.

"I have no problem with that at all. Even if all you can do is relieve some of the symptoms, it would be welcome. We try to ensure that she has a normal life but her Bipolar and Epilepsy restrict what she is capable of doing. Her ADD along with her dyslexia means that her education has to be carefully monitored and structured. Can you help in any of these cases?"

At this Poppy replied, placing her had on Minervas' arm to indicate that she would reply.

"I am familiar with Bipolar and Epilepsy, but not the other two. Could you explain what they are?"

Dan and Emma looked at each other in shock. Dan nodded for Emma to reply.

"ADD or Attention Deficit Disorder, is a condition that gives Lily a very short attention span and makes her get bored easily. When she gets bored, she starts to act up and disrupt the class. Dyslexia is a condition that causes problems with reading, writing, spelling and maths. Thankfully Lily only has a mild case and she copes without too many problems. Like Hermione, she is highly intelligent and is well above her age group in all her schoolwork. The doctors have said that they suspect that all of her conditions are as the result of trauma she suffered while at the Dursleys'." She replied, scowling at the name. "She is on medication to help with her Bipolar and Epilepsy, but you cannot medicate Dyslexia and the doctors are reluctant to give her medication to help with her ADD as they do not want her relying on it. How come you have never come across these two conditions before?" She asked.

Poppy nodded at this before replying.

"In some ways magical medicine is far in advance of what non-magical doctors have achieved. In other ways, we are far behind. I can say clearly that I have seen quite a few children with symptoms that you describe, but whether they suffered from the condition or not I can't say." Poppy paused. "Is Lily on any medication to assist with her transition?" She asked cautiously.

Emma shook her head.

"Not at the moment." She replied. "I'm not sure if you are aware but the options for Transgender children in the UK, at least the non-magical side, are rather limited. She sees a specialist at the Tavistock clinic, just outside London. Her doctor there has admitted that he would like to put her on hormone blockers in the next year or so, so she would not be forced to go through puberty. However the NHS will not allow the prescription of those drugs to anyone under the age of 16. We have considered going to either France or America where doctors there could treat her earlier. But we have not decided on anything yet. As you can imagine, Lily is quite upset about that as she does not want to go through 'male' puberty." Emma paused as she was getting quite emotional. Dan put his arm round her, despite not feeling particularly strong himself.

Poppy decided to offer them some hope.

"Well the magical world is somewhat different." She replied.

This caused Emma and Dan to look at her, hope clearly showing on their faces.

"Lily will have to be seen by a specialist at St Mungo's." Poppy began. "I can arrange this to be done as soon as possible as there is the distinct possibility of the need for more than one visit. And if they are satisfied with your Daughter being clear what she wants, she will be able to start on a potions regime."

Emma and Dan looked as though they could not believe their luck.

"What sort of potions?" Emma asked.

"They combine the effects of suppressing the male hormones and providing a level of oestrogen that any girl would have as she goes through puberty."

As this was mention. Both Dan and Snape reddened at the direction the conversation was heading.

"And the future?" Emma asked, knowing that Lily would want to know too.

"Well after she had been on the potions regime for at least two years and the specialists are satisfied that the next step is not only in Lily's best interest but that she wants it too, she will be admitted to St Mungo's. Where, over a period of at least two weeks, she will become a fully functioning biological woman."

"As in?" Emma could barely get the words out.

"As in the same as you and me Mrs Granger." Poppy replied. "Including the ability to conceive and give birth to children."

Emma almost wept at this. Hearing that Lilys' deepest hopes and dreams could come true.

"However, I ask you not to mention this to Lily before she has had a chance to meet with the specialist from St Mungo's. As I am sure you both will have many questions and I may not be able to answer them all." Poppy replied.

Emma nodded, though nothing could bring her down as she was currently floating on cloud 9. Dan decided to reply as his wife was to euphoric.

"You said you wanted to examine Lily?" He asked. "Where would the best place to be?"

"I can examine her best if she is lying down. So I suppose her bedroom would be best." Poppy replied.

By this time Emma was out of the clouds.

"I'll take you up." She replied. "Dan if you wait here with our other guests as we will not all fit. I plan to stay with Lily during your exam and it would take an extraordinary event to force Hermione away." She added.

Poppy smiled.

"That will not be a problem." She replied. "If you will show me the way, then we can get started."

Emma nodded and opened the door. She led the Healer up the stairs and was soon knocking on her Daughters' bedroom door.

Hermione opened it seconds later. On seeing her Mum, she opened the door wider and let the two adults in.

The room was large, with two beds, both with different bedspreads and a wide bay window with a double desk underneath it.

Lily was at the far end of the room by the window, still livid. Emma immediately went over and putting her arm around her youngest Daughter, guided her over to one of the beds.

"This is Madame Pomfry." Emma introduced the Healer. "She is going to give you a check over to see if there is anything she can do for you."

Lily nodded, trusting her Mum completely.

"Where do you want me" She asked.

"Lying on your bed would be best." Poppy replied.

"Do I need to undress?" Lily asked.

"Not at the moment. I may ask you to remove certain items of clothing, depending on what the scans reveal."

Lily nodded and lay down on the left hand bed and put her arms by her sides. Hermione and Emma sat on the other bed and watched.

Once Lily was settled, Poppy drew her wand and began to scan the young girl. Shen she saw the first results, she went pale and immediately did it again. With apparently the same result.

"What is the matter?" Emma asked, recognising that the Healer had found something both unexpected and troubling.

"This is serious. I recommend we either get the others up here, or we go downstairs to join them. I would prefer explaining this only once and I will need their help." Poppy replied.

"We'll go down." Replied Emma, looking at both her Daughters to confirm.

"Very well. Please lead the way." Poppy said.

With her arms round Lilys' shoulder, Hermione led the way. Followed by the two adults.

As they entered the living room, the three adults all got to their feet. Minerva was about to say something when she saw Poppys' face.

Dan looked at his wife, who shook her head and nodded at the healer. Dan sat back on the sofa and pulled Hermione on his lap. Emma did the same with Lily and the four of them looked at Poppy.

"Well?" Emma demanded.

"I'm sorry to say this, but there is more going on here than any of us are aware. While I cannot rule out that previous trauma contributed to Lilys' conditions, the primary cause is much, much worse!"

Dan and Emma looked at the Healer in outrage. Poppy had turned to Minerva and Snape, who looked shocked.

"Lily has been subjected to numerous magical spells that have affected her in many ways. There is a bind on her magical core, which I am not surprised at. Her parents probably did it before her first birthday. However, the scale of the binding has me worried. Then there are spells to hamper intelligence, co-ordination and even social ability." Poppy said.

"Can they be safely undone?" Emma asked.

"I'm not sure. I would have to proceed carefully and I may have to take her to a treatment facility to be sure."

"But how?" Asked Dan. "Lily is almost as smart as Hermione and Hermione is in the top 1% for her age group. Not to mention that they both play sports and do dancing as well. How could Lily do that if her co-ordination was impaired?"

"The spells are not working properly or they have become undone since they were cast. It is that factor that has caused your Daughters' health problems." Poppy replied.

"Do we know who might have done this?" Dan demanded. He, along with Hermione, had their arms round Lily.

"I recognise the magical signature who cast at least one of the spells." Poppy replied, not wanting to identify who as it would cause more trouble.

"Well who is it?" Dan, Emma and Hermione all demanded.

"Albus Dumbledore!" Poppy replied reluctantly and waited for hell to break lose.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

16th September – Grangers Residence, Crawley, East Sussex.

At Poppys' remark, the room went silent. Then, as she predicted, all hell broke loose!

Lily burst into tears, which caused Hermione to try and comfort her Sister. Dan and Emma meanwhile, were livid and did not hold back.

"What the hell?" He shouted, not directing the remark at anyone in particular.

Emma, although she was as mad as her husband, saw that she needed to get the children out of the way.

"Hermione, please take your Sister up to your room and stay there until we come for you." She said through gritted teeth.

Hermione nodded and, with both her arms round her sobbing Sister, headed out the door and up the stairs.

Emma made sure the door was closed before attempting to calm Dan down. Not that she was so calm herself.

Dan then got up and went over to the telephone.

"What are you doing?" Minerva asked. Though she was fairly certain of the answer.

"Calling the police. This needs to be reported!" Dan replied, trying to keep his cool.

"Mr Granger you can't!" Minerva gasped.

This caused Dan to spin round and stalk towards the older woman.

"Why not? This is criminal behaviour and he needs to be held accountable!" He said. At over 6ft, he managed to make Minerva, who was tall herself, feel very small.

"I understand what you are saying, but you can't report it to the muggle police. It would be a breach of the Statute of Secrecy!" She said, trying not to appear too scared.

"Well then. Are there magical police we can call?" Emma said, seeing Dan nearly lose control and dragging him back to the sofa.

Minerva nodded.

"The ministry has a dedicated department. The Department for Magical Law Enforcement." She replied.

"Then I want a senior person from that department here now so I can ensure it is reported." Emma said firmly.

Minerva knew they were correct. But she wanted to speak to Albus first to find out why he had done it. Then she looked at the Grangers. One look at their faces told her that if she argued then on this point, it would end all hope of resolving the situation and allowing Lily to attend Hogwarts. She gave a nod.

"If everyone will wait here, I will go and speak to Amelia Bones. She is head of the department and an old friend. I will try to get her to accompany me back here, if that would be acceptable?" She asked nervously.

Dan looked at Emma who nodded.

"I will give you one hour to return with at least two members of this department. With one being a senior member. If you do not return within that time period, you will not be welcome back and we will be reporting this to the police. To hell with your secrecy statute!" Dan said firmly, the look in his eyes convinced the three staff members that he would carry it out.

"Very well. I should not be that long anyway." Minerva got up and headed to the door.

Emma saw her out and then returned to the sitting room, closing the door behind her. Sitting down on the sofa, she looked at Poppy.

"Is there anything you can do for Lily now? Or does she have to wait to get her to hospital?" She asked.

"I could attempt to remover the block on her core, or at least part of it. But I would prefer to wait until she is in proper surroundings. That way, if anything goes wrong, it can be fixed quickly." Poppy replied after a short pause.

Emma nodded.

"Good luck with getting Lily to voluntarily go to hospital!" Dan muttered, almost under his breath. But loud enough so the others heard.

"What was that Mr Granger?" Poppy asked.

Emma tried not to chuckle at Dan's remark and mostly succeeded.

"Lily hates hospitals. In fact, she is not a fan of medical treatments altogether. We generally have to bribe her to go for her regular appointments. Then only one she would voluntarily go it if it was up to her would be the Tavistock clinic." Emma replied with a small smile on her face.

"Well hopefully she would not be there long and she could probably see the specialist at the same time." Poppy replied.

Dan and Emma both nodded at that, figuring that would be the best way.

16th September – Bones Manor, Buckinghamshire.

Minerva apparated from the Granger house to outside what appeared to be a dilapidated manor house. As she approached the gates, they swung open to reveal well-kept lawns and an imposing 3 story house in an Elizabethan style. She walked up the drive and as she approached the front door, an elf appeared.

"Welcome Professor. Is you having an appointment?" The elf asked, bowing.

"No I don't Flora." Minerva replied. "But it is urgent that I see Madam Bones. Is she available?" She asked.

"If you will come into the hall. I's be asking Mistress if she can see you." The elf replied.

Minerva nodded and followed the elf into the main hall. The door closed and the elf popped away.

Less than a minute later, the elf was back.

"The Mistress can see you." The elf said. "She is in the study. You'se knows where it is?" The elf asked.

"I do Flora." Minerva replied. "You can get on with your chores."

The elf bowed again and popped away.

Minerva headed down a passageway to the door at the end. She knocked.

"Come in!" Said a voice from inside.

Minerva opened the door and walked in.

The room was large, but dominated by a massive oak desk. The walls were lined with bookshelves and the single window was behind the desk, allowing natural light to spill onto it. Behind the desk was seated an attractive woman who looked to be in her 40's. Her greying, red hair done up in a bun and a monocle on her right eye. As soon as she saw Minerva, she got up and came round the desk.

"Minerva!" She boomed. "To what do I owe the pleasure of an urgent visit on a Sunday morning?" She asked.

"You'd better take a seat Amelia, this will come as a shock."

Amelia nodded and sat in one of the two chairs in front of the desk, waving Minerva to take the other one.

"Well start at the beginning and please don't leave anything out." Amelia said as she made herself comfortable.

"Of course. But I would ask you to hold any questions you have until the end, as I may leave something out otherwise." Minerva replied.

Amelia nodded and settled back in her chair to listen.

Minerva proceeded to tell the other woman the whole story, right from noticing that Harry Potter had no address in the magical register up to discovering Lilys' problems were caused by spells cast when she was a baby. She spoke quickly, knowing she had a time limit. By the time she was done, Amelia was out of her chair and storming.

"Merlins' beard! What was that man thinking of? Can you take me to them now? I need to get the ball rolling on this!" She said, turning to face Minerva.

"The Grangers want to see you." Minerva replied. "In fact, we have less than fifteen minutes to get there before they throw us out!"

"Then we'd better get a move on!" Amelia remarked. She went over to her desk and cast a very specific charm. Not five minutes later, the fire in her hearth glowed green and a tall back man stepped from it. Seconds later, he was followed by a shorter man with brown hair.

Minerva recognised the two, causing her to smile.

Amelia nodded at each of them in greeting.

"Shacklebolt, Dawlish. Thank you for coming so quickly. We have an investigation to open."

"Of course Madame Bones." The shorter man, Dawlish, replied. "Can we have some details?"

"I'll explain when we arrive. But I need your guarantee of absolute discretion. Should any word leak out, I shall know it was one of you and the consequences will be most severe!" Amelia replied.

Both men nodded and the four of them walked out of the manor. Only stopping on the way to let Flora know where she was going. As soon as they were outside the wards, Minerva turned to the others.

"I will apparate Amelia first and then return for each of you afterwards." She said.

The other three nodded and Amelia took Minerva's arm. The two of them vanished with a snap. Seconds later, she returned for Dawlish and soon afterward for Shacklebolt.

16th September – Granger residence, Crawley, East Sussex.

Soon the four of them were standing outside the Grangers house. They walked up the path and the door was opened by Emma.

Emma stood back and let the four into the house and Minerva led the way into the living room. Emma closed the front door and followed the group, closing the sitting room door behind them.

As they entered, Dan got to his feet. He nodded at Minerva.

"You have managed to earn a modicum of trust Professor." He remarked. "Who are these people you have brought?"

Minerva nodded, pleased that things were going in the right direction.

"Mr and Mrs Granger, this is Madame Amelia Bones. She is the Director of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. And these are two of her Aurors. John Dawlish and Kingsley Shacklebolt." Minerva said as calmly as possible.

The three nodded as they were introduced. Amelia stepped forward and extended her hand.

"It is a pleasure to meet you Mr Granger, Mrs Granger. I just wish it were in better circumstances." She said politely.

Dan shook her hand before Emma took over.

"Actually, while we are being formal. We are both dentists, so the correct form of address would be Doctor!" Dan remarked, wanting to set the tone.

"My apologies Doctor Granger. I was unaware." Amelia replied, looking at Minerva who clearly did not know either. "Now I have a few questions so I can clarify the situation, then I will ask that you inform me what you need."

Dan nodded.

"Well if everyone would take a seat, I'll go and get a couple of chairs from the dining room." He said, realising there was not enough seats.

"Don't worry." Amelia replied. "The Aurors will stand." She added.

"I'm not familiar with that term. What is an Auror?" Emma asked.

Amelia smiled, having heard this question from muggle born parents before.

"They are the magical equivalent of your police. And, like the police, we have many different specialists within the Auror office. These two are among my best investigative Aurors." Amelia replied.

Dan and Emma both nodded as the rest took their seats.

"Are you ready?" Amelia asked. "I would like to do the first part before we involve either of your Daughters, They are Lily and Hermione, correct?"

The two Grangers nodded.

"Very well. When did Lily first come to live with you?" She asked.

"Fifth of March 1985." Dan replied.

"How did she come to live with you?"

"Since we were unable to have any more children of our own, we decided not long after Hermione turned five that we would look into adopting. The process took several months, but early in 1985 we qualified as prospective adoptive parents. Our original plan was to adopt a baby. So on fifteenth February of 1985 the three of us went to a children's home outside of Croydon where a baby, who was looking for a family was living. There was a chronic shortage of foster carers at the time and I suppose there still is." Emma replied. "When we arrived at the children's home, we discovered that the baby's birth Mother had been awarded custody back. So, rather than make it a wasted trip, we decided to take a look round. We had been there about twenty minutes when Hermione wandered off. We found her shortly afterwards, sitting talking to a little girl in the corner of one of the larger rooms. We stood there and listened for a while before realising that this little girl needed a family far more than a baby." Emma stopped, getting a bit teary eyed at the memory.

Dan took up the tale.

"When one of the care workers saw us paying Lily attention, they called us into the office where two of the care workers tried to put us off. Claiming that she was a troublemaker and we would be better off looking at another child. Well when we heard the language they were using, that made us more determined." Dan continued with a grimace. "We spoke to the social worker who had accompanied us and she advised us to get to know Lily first. So over the next couple of weeks we came back several times and we were even allowed to take Lily out for a few of hours as it was half term. By the beginning of March we had all decided that we wanted to adopt Lily and Lily was looking forward to living with us." Dan paused and took a sip of water from a cup on the coffee table. "By that time, we had been told the full story of what had happened to her and all of her medical history. This made us want to adopt her even more. On the fifth of March we were allowed to bring her home. Then on fifth of August, we formally adopted her. Since no-one had any idea what day her real birthday was, we have always celebrated that day instead." He finished.

Amelia nodded, as a Dicta-quill made notes. Both the Grangers were impressed by this.

"What were you told of her history?" Amelia asked.

"Only that she had been abandoned on the doorstep of Vernon and Petunia Dursley on the first of November 1981. She lived with them for just under three years before being taken into care. During those three years, she suffered more than any child should. When it was finally reported to the police and Social Services, Lily had a badly healed broken leg, several unhealed rib fractures, numerous healed skull fractures and a severe case of malnutrition. She spent almost a month in hospital and afterwards was sent to the childrens' home. From what her social worker told us, she was bullied off and on at the home, especially by some of the older girls. She did confide in one of the care workers, who helped her out. In fact, Lily still writes to this woman on a regular basis."

Amelia nodded again, looking at the parchment to make sure the quill was getting everything.

"Right, I have one final question. I understand this is a sensitive matter, and I give my word that the information will only be used if absolutely necessary."

Both the grangers nodded.

"Very well. I understand that Lily is Transgender. Can you give me a brief history of how that came about?" Amelia asked.

At this question, both the Grangers and Poppy winced.

Emma put her hand on Dan's arm to stop him from having a go. She knew the question had been badly phrased, but hoped it was from ignorance rather than with malicious intent.

"Why do you need to know?" Emma asked, keeping her tone level.

"I need to obtain the full picture here and getting a timeframe of when and how Lily became Transgender is necessary."

Emma took a deep breath to stop herself from shouting.

"First of all Madame Bones, Lily did not 'become' Transgender. It is something she is and has always been. I take it you want to know when she began expressing herself as Lily and began to socially transition?"

"Yes, that is what I meant." Amelia replied, nodding her head. "I apologise if I get the terminology wrong as I have never come across a Transgender individual before."

"That you know of!" Dan remarked.

"I don't understand?" Amelia asked. "How do you mean, that I know of?"

"I simply meant that you may have met a Transgender individual and simply not been aware of it." He replied. "Many Trans individuals, once they have socially transitioned, never refer to their pre-transition selves at all. If you did not know them before they transitioned, they would most likely never discuss the subject with you."

"I see." Amelia replied, though her expression said otherwise. "Anyway, getting back to the question, when did Lily first begin her transition?"

"At the children's home." Emma replied. "From what Lily has told us, it began shortly after Halloween and by the time the New Year came round, she was living full time as Lily. From what I understand, she even changed her appearance as well."

"In what way?" Amelia asked. This also caused Minerva and Snape to pay close attention.

"Well, from what we were told she used to dye her hair. Why I don't know and as far as I am aware she has not done so since living with us." Emma paused. "The care worker that befriended Lily also mentioned that she looked a little different too, but was unable to say exactly what had changed."

At this, Minerva, Amelia Snape and Poppy all nodded.

"I take it you know something?" Dan asked.

"Yes we do." Minerva replied. "And that was part of the reason why I was so shocked at seeing what Lily looks like now compared to how I remember the baby looking." She paused and took a framed photograph out of her robes. "This is the last picture I have of James and Lily Potter. It was taken on their wedding anniversary, shortly before they all went into hiding." She handed the picture over to Dan.

Dan took the picture and looked at it. It showed a tall man with messy dark hair and round glasses. He had his arm around a petite red-headed woman who held a small black haired boy in her arms. All three smiled and waved at the camera. What surprise them most, was that the figures were moving. Dan dropped the picture as if it was a hot potato.

"What on earth was that?" He asked.

"A photograph." Minerva replied in a puzzled tone.

"But it's moving!" Dan gasped.

This caused Minerva to smile, before bending down to retrieve the photo.

"That's because it is a wizard photograph Doctor Granger." She replied. "All wizard images are animated." She added.

"I see." Dan replied, in a tone that clearly said otherwise.

"Anyway, did you see the child in the picture?" She asked.

Dan nodded as Minerva held it out for Emma to take a look.

"Well that was how Lily looked the last time I saw her. As you can see, she looks very different to how she did. The only thing that is the same is her eyes."

"Well I can't explain the difference." Dan replied. "When we first met Lily, she looked pretty much the same as she does now." He paused and took another sip of water. "Do you have further questions for us?"

Amelia looked at the pair of them.

"I need to speak to Lily and then we need to get her examined by a Healer from my department. This examination will need to take place in St Mungo's under controlled conditions with the results recorded." She replied.

Dan and Emma both nodded in agreement to this. But Dan had something to add so he decided to speak up.

"While I agree with what you said, there is a point that must be addressed first. We have been informed that Albus Dumbledore is Lily's Magical Guardian and he will become Hermione's when she starts school. This is unacceptable to us so before we do anything, I need confirmation if that is indeed the case and if it is, we need to start the process of getting it changed!" He said as calmly as he could.

Amelia looked shocked at this, but could only nod in understanding.

"I will send Dawlish to the Ministry to confirm this and if it is the case, we will arrange for another guardian to be appointed. Did you have any preference as to whom you wanted?" She asked.

Dan and Emma looked at each other before Dan nodded slightly. They then turned back to face the others and Emma spoke up.

"Our first thought was Professor McGonagall here, but we have concerns that because she answers directly to Mr Dumbledore, there might be a conflict of interest." She replied, giving Minerva a slight smile to indicate no hard feelings.

Minerva had to nod in agreement.

"While I would be honoured to act as Lily's Magical Guardian, I agree that it would be tricky as Albus tends to do things that he wants and would not even think to discuss it with me. Even if I was Guardian to any of the pupils."

Emma's smile grew and she addressed Minerva.

"Thank you for understanding. While we don't know many people in the magical world, the person we are looking for would be able to stand up to Mr Dumbledore, who clearly has his own agenda, and not be answerable to Mr Dumbledore in any way."

This caused Amelia to smile, she did not have children of her own and after the death of one of her Brothers and his whole family. The only child in her life was her Niece Susan, who was the same age as the two children here. This gave birth to an idea, one that she would ever have even thought of earlier that day.

"I would like to volunteer my services as Magical Guardian for both Lily and your other daughter." She spoke up, looking at both Grangers. "I am head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and I answer only to the Minister. While I do interact with Dumbledore in his position as Chief Warlock, he has no direct authority over me." She finished.

Emma and Dan looked at each other again and nodded. This time, Dan spoke up.

"I would agree to this initially." He replied. "But I need to clarify something you just said. You said that Mr Dumbledore is also a Chief Warlock? What is he chief of and will that have any effect to getting Lily accepted?"

"Dumbledore is Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot." Amelia replied. "They are the judiciary and parliament of the magical world."

Are you saying that one group of individuals are not only responsible for making the laws, but to punishing criminals as well?" Dan gasped in horror. "Talk about too much power in the hands of the few! And Mr Dumbledore is chief?"

"The Chief Warlock or Witch is the chair of the Wizengamot. They keep order and make sure the meetings and trials run smoothly." Amelia replied. "They have the same vote as all the other members, of which I am one and they cannot go against a majority vote."

"So let me get this straight?" Dan asked. "Mr Dumbledore is not Headmaster of this country's only magical school, but he is head of the parliament as well? Talk about too much power in the hands of one man!" He added.

"Don't forget the ICW as well!" Minerva added, only to aware of how thinly Albus spread himself and how little time he gave to Hogwarts.

This caught Emma's attention.

"What's the ICW?" She asked.

Amelia sighed, but decided to answer herself.

"The ICW is the International Confederation of Wizards." She replied. "It is the international body that deals with incidents or events that involve more than one country or cross borders. They have a representative of every magical government and they deal with everything from criminal matters to international sporting events."

"And Mr Dumbledore is the British representative?" Dan asked.

"Dumbledore is the Supreme Mugwump, the head of the council. It is a similar position to the Chief Warlock, only on an international level." Amelia replied.

Dan shook his head.

"It sounds like Mr Dumbledore can pretty much do whatever he likes given the power he holds!" He replied. "How can he have enough time to do all three?"

"I'm not sure about the other two." Minerva piped up. "But at Hogwarts he is little more than a figurehead. The running of the school is mostly left to me as Deputy as well as the other three heads of house. All other decisions are made by the school board."

Emma held her hand up.

"While all this is fascinating, we need to get back to the point." She said calmly but assertively. "If your Auror can go and confirm the identity of Lily's Magical Guardian, the rest of us can head to the Hospital and get all the data recorded." She paused and looked at Dan who nodded. "With regards to your offer Madame Bones, we would like to accept it with the proviso that it can be changed if we deem it necessary."

Amelia nodded.

"I can agree to that." She replied before turning to Dawlish. "Get to the Ministry and confirm the identity of the Magical Guardian for the person born Harry Potter, now known as Lily Evans-Granger as well as Hermione Granger." She then turned to Shacklebolt. "Go and find Healer Tonks, she is the senior DMLE approved healer we have and I have the feeling we will need her expertise.

Both Dawlish and Shacklebolt nodded and left while the rest of the group stood up.

"I should be getting back to the Castle." Snape spoke up for the first time since Amelia arrived. "If any potions are needed, please bring me a list so I can get started on them." Then he too headed out and left.

This left the two Grangers, Minerva, Poppy and Amelia.

"If you will fetch your Daughters Dr Granger." Amelia said, addressing Emma. "We will head to St Mungos where we can hopefully get some answers.

Emma nodded and headed up the stairs, returning moments later with the two girls in tow.

"Girls, this is Amelia Bones, she is the head of the magical police and has volunteered to take over as your Magical Guardian." Emma introduced the two. She then turned to Amelia. "Madame Bones, these are our Daughters, Hermione and Lily."

Amelia had identified Lily before her Mother had even spoken. She had met Lily Potter on several occasions and the little girl was a spitting image of her. She nodded at the two girls.

"Please to meet you. Have you been told what is happening?" She asked.

Lily, as she usually did, took the lead and stepped forward.

"Pleased to meet you too." She replied. "Mum said you're taking us to some sort of hospital?" She added, her voice making it clear that she was less than thrilled about going.

"Yes, that is right. We need to get a report on what had been done to you and it needs to be done under controlled conditions. While we're there we will attempt to undo what had been done and that will hopefully what had been done." Amelia replied.

The little girl nodded before turning to Poppy.

"Mum also said there may be someone at this Hospital who can help me?" She asked, while not saying so, it was clear what she meant.

"Yes, while you are there I hope to be able to get the specialist to come and talk to you. It will probably require several visits but they may be able to help you more that your muggle doctor can." The Healer replied.

Lily's face lit up like it was Christmas and her Birthday rolled into one. She immediately started hopping from one foot to the other and pulled at Emma's hand.

"Let's go Mum!" She said, practically dragging Emma out of the door.

"Put your jackets and shoes on, then we can go." Emma replied as the four Grangers headed out into the hall, trying not to laugh at Lily's sudden enthusiasm.

Once they were ready, they all headed outside. Where Amelia took both Lily and Hermione by the hand and apparated with them to St Mungos. Hotly followed by Poppy with Emma and Minerva with Dan.


	6. Chapter 6

**St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies – London.**

The five adults and two children appeared in what would almost be universally recognised as a hospital waiting area. Letting go of Lily and Hermione's hands, Amelia went over to the reception desk. The witch on duty recognised her and gave a nod in greeting.

"Good morning Madame Bones." The smiling Blonde witch said. "How can we help you today?"

"I need to conduct a formal medical investigation so I will be needing one of the secure treatment suites. I have summoned Healer Tonks to perform a fully recorded examination that will be witnessed by myself and two of my Aurors." Amelia replied briskly.

"Certainly Madame Bones." The blonde witch returned. "Treatment area 4 on the second floor is free. Will you need a healer to witness the examination?" She enquired.

"No, that will not be necessary." Amelia replied. "Healer Pomfry will be present and can act as witness." She finished, turning to Poppy who nodded in agreement.

"Is there anything else St Mungo's can do for you?"

At this Poppy stepped forward.

"Is Healer Sinclair available for a consult?" She asked.

"He is not in at the moment, but I can ask him to come in if it is necessary."

"If he can, it would be best done today. We need to get the investigation examination out of the way first so we would not need him for at least a couple of hours." Poppy replied.

"I'll floo call him and ask him to come in and send him up once he arrives. Do you have any details you want me to pass on?"

"No, just inform him that it involves the patient we discussed yesterday."

"Very well, I'll let her know. Will anyone else be joining you?" The blonde witch asked.

"Aurors Dawlish and Shacklebolt as well as Healer Tonks. Please send them up when they arrive." Amelia replied.

"Certainly Madame Bones. You know the way."

At this Amelia nodded and turning to the group behind her, motioned for them to follow her. Turning back, she led the group through a set of double doors at the back of the reception area and down the corridor. They went up two flights of stairs and along another corridor before stopping outside another set of double doors. Taking her wand out, Amelia tapped a panel next to the door, it turned green and the doors opened. Leading the group inside, they found themselves in a large treatment room with a hospital bed in the middle, several shelves and cabinets on one wall and several chairs on another. Amelia turned to Lily.

"If you'll make yourself comfortable on the Bed, I'm sure Healer Tonks will be here shortly." She said with a smile.

Lily nodded and reluctantly climbed up onto the bed with Hermione, standing next to her. Their parents went over to the chairs and sat down, never taking their eyes off the two girls.

"What's going to happen?" Lily asked Amelia, feeling more than a little nervous. She reached her hand out and Hermione took it without comment.

"Basically, Healer Tonks will perform a hull magical scan of you and document the results. The original will be passed to your parents while certified copies will be logged with the DMLE and St Mungo's. As to what the examination will incur, Healer Tonks will describe that when she arrives as all Healers have their own method." Amelia replied.

Lily nodded and looked a little less worried, she had been examined by Doctors many times and this sounded very similar.

Amelia had barely finished speaking when the doors opened and a tall woman with black hair and almost purple eyes entered, followed by Shacklebolt. The woman wore robes similar to Poppy but had the same crest that Amelia and the Aurors had on their robes, covered by a cloak. She had a worried expression and went straight up to Amelia, while Shacklebolt stood next to the doors.

"You sent for me Madame Bones?" She said in a warm, almost silky voice, though her expression still expressed concern.

"I did." Amelia replied. "I need you to do full documented forensic examination of this young lady here." She indicated Lily. "Full protocols to be witnessed by myself, Poppy and Shacklebolt. As well as Dawlish, when he arrives."

The woman nodded, her expression clearing slightly. She had clearly done this sort of thing before.

"Is there anything else you can tell me before I begin?" She asked

Amelia shook her head.

"I would prefer to leave everything to you. We can discuss any issues after the examination is complete." She replied, her expression serious.

"Of course." Healer Tonks replied. "I'll get set up and hopefully Dawlish will be here by the time I'm done."

She went over to where Lily was sitting on the bed. She gave the girl a comforting smile.

"Hi there. I'm Healer Andromeda Tonks, What is your name My Dear?" She asked.

"I'm Lily, this is my Sister Hermione." The girl replied. "Can Hermione stay with me while you do your tests?" She asked.

"Of course." Andromeda replied with another smile. "I just need to get set up, then we'll try as get through this as painlessly as possible." She added, before going over to one of the cupboards and taking out what looked like paper, ink and an old style quill pen. She was about to take them back when Amelia interrupted her.

"You'll need to use a DMLE dicta-quill and parchment. I know the supplies here are good, but we can't take any risks." She said to the healer.

Andromeda looked puzzled but nodded.

"Of course Madame Bones." She replied. "Do you have some with you, or will Dawlish be bringing it?" She asked.

"I have them with me." Amelia replied, opening the briefcase like bag she carried and taking out a sheaf of paper, a pot of ink and a quill that was bright orange in colour. She handed them to Andromeda.

Andromeda nodded and went over to the small table by the end of the bed and set the papers down, opened the ink pot and laid the quill on top of the papers. She then removed her wand and took off her cloak. With a swish of her wand, the cloak flew from her hand to a hook on the wall.

This caused the four Grangers to collectively gasp. Andromeda looked closely at the four of them, but said nothing as she turned to Amelia.

"I'm ready to begin whenever Dawlish arrives." She said.

Amelia nodded and went over to Shacklebolt with whom she held a whispered conversation.

The two adult Grangers were doing the same thing and occasionally spoke to Poppy and Minerva who were sitting either side of them. Lily and Hermione were quiet, Lily was clearly drawing comfort from her Sister's touch but neither of them felt the need to speak.

About a quarter of an hour later, the doors opened again and Dawlish entered, he went straight over to Amelia.

"Problem?" She asked, seeing the expression on his face.

"Not really, more of an unexpected issue." He replied.

All the Grangers looked at Dawlish when he said this, with the adults getting up and approaching the three DMLE officers.

"What sort of issue?" Amelia asked.

"Well, as expected, there is no Magical Guardian in place for Hermione Granger." He started. "The usual procedure is apparently waiting until Hogwarts admission is formally accepted and then waiting to see if the parents nominate a Magical Guardian. Since the vast majority of non-magical parents are not informed of the need to do so, Headmaster Dumbledore takes on this role for most of the muggle-born students."

He paused and took out some papers. He separated the top two sheets and handed them to the Grangers.

"All you need to do is fill this in and sign it to nominate a Magical Guardian of your choice. As long as it is done before you sign the Hogwarts acceptance letter, Headmaster Dumbledore will have no legal redress." He finished.

The Grangers took the paperwork and gave it a quick look over, it was simple enough. They gave a nod in understanding.

"So what about Lily?" Emma asked.

"This is where the problem occurs." Dawlish replied. "Again, as expected, there is no Magical Guardian for Lily Evans-Granger, Lily Granger or even Lily Evans." He continued. "However under Harry Potter.."

Lily tensed up at this, but Hermione put her arm around Lily's shoulder and she soon relaxed.

"..there seems to be a mix up. According to the records, which were sealed by the way, he is in the custody of a member of our magical society and therefore does not need a Magical Guardian. This person is not named and there were no further details. Outside the seal was simple note that explains nothing, just asks more questions!"

"What does it say?" Amelia asked, getting impatient.

"It refers all enquiries to the office of the Chief Warlock!" Dawlish replied simply.

"Albus Dumbledore!" Amelia almost snarled. "Tell me you did not leave it at that?"

Dawlish made an annoyed sound.

"Of course not Boss." He replied. "I then went to the register of wills. Both James and Lily Potter left a will, but they were both sealed on the morning of 1st November 1981 by order of the Chief Warlock. Not liking where this was going, I went to the only other place where a copy of their wills might be."

"Gringotts!" Amelia stated.

Dawlish nodded before continuing.

"As you might expect, I did not get very far there. I did however manage to speak to the head of the Potter accounts, a delightful goblin by the name of Bladefist!" Dawlish remarked almost sarcastically. "While he would not give me any details, he did confirm they held a copy of the wills but they would only be opened when the heir to the house requested it!"

Amelia nodded.

"That's expected. The goblins take their jobs very seriously." She added.

Dan then took a step forward.

"What's Gringotts?" He asked.

Amelia had the good grace to blush slightly. She turned to face the Grangers.

"My apologies." She said. "Gringotts is the Wizarding bank. They also deal with inheritances as well as all forms of contracts. It appears that after we are finished here, we will need to take a trip there to see if we can get the wills read. If we can. It might explain a few things."

Dan nodded.

"Very well. But can we get on with the examination, Lily hates hospitals at the best of times." He replied.

Amelia nodded before turning to Andromeda.

"You may begin when ready!"

"Very well." Andromeda replied. "If all witnesses will gather round the bed. We can get started."

Poppy got up and headed over to the bed where she stood at the head, out of the way. She was joined by the three DMLE officers, who all seemed to have done this before. When they were all in place, Andromeda rolled up her sleeves.

"Right, for those of you who have not partaken in this before, let me explain how it will work. Once the quill starts recording, the only person to speak will be me unless I ask one of you a question. The only exception to this is that everyone, except the patient, will need to identify themselves clearly in turn. Does everyone understand?"

There were nods from around the table.

"Very well, then I'll begin."

She paused and waved her wand over the quill in a complicated motion. The quill rose into the air, dipped itself into the ink and prepared to write. As soon as it was ready, Andromeda began speaking.

"This is a forensic examination of live patient Lily Evans-Granger at the request of the DMLE by myself Senior Healer Andromeda Tonks, Senior DMLE Healer. Witnessing the examination are." She paused, and indicated Amelia.

"Amelia Bones, Director of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement!" She said, slowly and clearly.

"Kingsley Shacklebolt, Senior Investigative Auror, Department of Magical Law Enforcement." Shacklebolt stated as soon as Amelia was finished, again slowly and clearly.

"John Dawlish, Senior Investigative Auror, Department of Magical Law Enforcement." Dawlish spoke next, in the same manner as the other two.

"Poppy Pomfry. Senior Healer and Mediwitch for Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry." Poppy spoke next as she knew what was required.

Andromeda looked at Hermione, indicating that she needed to speak. Hermione nodded.

"Hermione Granger. Sister of the patient." Hermione said, slowly and clearly just as the others had.

Andromeda nodded in satisfaction before beginning the long process of fully examining her patient.

 **Headmasters Office – Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. At about the same time.**

Dumbledore stumbled out of his private sleeping quarters and slumped into his chair. He had woken minutes before from his potion induced sleep and he had a raging headache. Opening the lower left drawer of his desk, he took out a vial containing a blue liquid. Uncorking the vial, he downed it in a single gulp. Seconds later his head cleared and he took a lemon drop from the dish on his desk and popped it into his mouth. Sighing in contentment, he leaned back in his chair to ponder the problem what was on his mind.

What to do about Harry Potter? That was the questioning going round his brain. He refused to refer to the boy by any other name and was confident that as soon as the Grangers realised that they could not argue, they would have no choice but to give in. He decided he would have to get the boy out of that house, as Magical Guardian he would make sure of it. But who to send the boy to? He wondered to himself. He would need a light sided family who would keep the boy humble. His immediate reaction was the Weasley's. However, since he wanted to make sure the boy made friends with Ronald separately, he dismissed that idea at once. He was going over a list of suitable families in his mind when he was interrupted by a cough. He looked up and saw the gargoyle on his desk move.

"Professor Snape requires admittance Headmaster!" The gargoyle stated.

"Allow him in." Dumbledore replied.

Not long later the door opened and Snape stepped in, he was carrying a potion.

"How are you feeling Headmaster?" The potions teacher asked.

"I had a headache when I awoke, but it is clear now." Dumbledore replied, before a thought occurred to him.

"What happened after I left Severus?" He asked.

Snape sat in one of the chairs opposite the desk and gave Dumbledore a run through of everything that occurred.

"Interesting, but that does not change anything. I am the boy's Magical Guardian and there is nothing anyone can do to change it! I may have to get young Mr Potter out of that house as quickly as possible. Do you have suggestions of a light family that would take him?" He enquired.

Snape looked at the Headmaster as if he had grown an extra head.

"You have no idea what you are dealing with Headmaster." Snape almost snapped. "While you might be the child's Magical Guardian, they are their legal parents under muggle law. Not only does our law state we cannot interfere with a child's parents, but if you try, they will simply head abroad to another school. And as for referring to the child as a boy, there is nothing masculine about the child and by now they will be at St Mungo's having a full diagnosis completed. They know what you did and are collecting the evidence to prove it!" Snape continued, getting angry by this point.

"What have I done Severus?" Dumbledore asked mildly.

"The binds on the child's magical core as well as the curses to inhibit intelligence and so on! What Merlin's name were you thinking of?" Snape demanded, jumping from his chair.

Dumbledore went white, realising that his plans had been discovered. He needed to put a stop to this.

"It was for the greater good Severus. Mr Potter has a destiny to fulfil and the only way he can do it is with my guidance. He cannot be too powerful or all will be lost!" Albus replied serenely, confident that he was right.

"You nearly made him a Squib!" Snape snapped. "How would that have helped?" He demanded.

If it were possible, Dumbledore went even whiter when he realised how far he had pushed it. It was then he remembered the extra binding he had put on when the boy had been left with his Aunt and Uncle. He had intended to make sure it was removed before the boy started Hogwarts but had forgotten to make any arrangements. Now it seemed to have come back to bite him.

"I have to go and see the Minister Severus, if you will excuse me!" Dumbledore said, getting up from his chair.

Severus looked at the old man in disgust before turning and leaving the office, his robes billowing behind him.

Dumbledore went to the fireplace, took a handful of floo powder from the pot on the mantelpiece and left in a blaze of green fire.

 **St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies – About two hours later.**

"…And that concludes this forensic examination!" Andromeda concluded. She then waved her wand over the quill with stopped writing and laid itself down. The Healer was pale with a mixture of shock and anger. It was only her intense self-discipline that had prevented her from reacting to what she had discovered.

The rest of the adults were just as shocked. Even Poppy, who had some inkling of what to expect, was fighting to control her emotions. Hermione, who was in tears, now wrapped her arms around Lily. She was joined moments later by Emma. Dan stood behind his family, his face red and his hands balled into fists with the knuckles white with how hard he was squeezing. He looked directly at Amelia.

"What happens now?" He said in a surprisingly calm voice.

It took Amelia a few seconds to respond as she was still wrestling with her own emotions.

"I will make several authorised copies of this document." She said, indicating the stack of parchment that contained the notes from the examination. "You, as Lily's parents will get to keep the master copy. I recommend that you place it somewhere secure when you get home."

Dan gave a nod in understanding, waiting for the rest.

"In order to finalise the legalities of Lily's status, we need to head directly to Gringots and speak with the Potter Account Manager. Once we have confirmed Lily's status as the heir to the Potters, you should be able to view the Potter wills. This should confirm who Lily's magical guardian is. Once that is done, I will need to head to the Ministry to file the reports and ensure that an official investigation is opened in to why Lily was placed with her Aunt and Uncle in the first place."

Dan gave another nod.

"Is there a place near Gringots where we can have something to eat?" He asked. "Also we were given a book list by Professor McGonagall and we would like to pick up some of the suggested books."

Andromeda interrupted them.

"Before we can do that, I need to remove the inhibiting curses and remove the first part of the magical binding." She said, having finally calmed herself down.

"Can't you remove the whole binding?" Emma asked.

Andromeda shook her head.

"It would be too dangerous both for Lily and for you as her family for me to remove it all at once." She replied. "I will remove the binding to 75% today and if all goes well, I will come and see you in a weeks' time to take the binding down to 50%. I will then monitor the situation carefully and remover a further 25% of the binding as soon as I feel it is safe to do so. The final 25% will be removed not later than 1st August next year to give you a chance to get used to it before Lily starts Hogwarts."

"That's if she goes!" Muttered Dan.

"What do you mean?" Andromeda asked, shocked.

"I mean that, with Albus Dumbledore being either directly or indirectly responsible for everything that Lily has suffered, I don't trust him with either of my Daughter's educations!" Dan replied, his eyes till blazing.

Emma looked at Dan, before turning to the others.

"Before we make any decisions, we want to make sure that Dumbledore has no legal authority over Lily or Hermione. That is non-negotiable. It also might be an idea for the girls to meet some of their future classmates and for us to meet their parents. That way we can get a better understanding of the world of Witches and Wizards!" She said.

Amelia smiled at this.

"That sounds like an excellent idea. I have a Niece who will be in the same year as your girls and I know several of the parents of other children who will also be attending Hogwarts at the same time." She said, thinking that her shy Niece could only benefit from being friends with the two girls."

"If you want to know what Hogwarts is like, my Daughter is in her 6th year at the moment. I'm sure she'll be happy to tell you stories of the school." Andromeda added with a smile.

Dan and Emma looked at each other and nodded. Emma then turned to Andromeda.

"How long will it take to remove the curses and bindings?" She asked.

"Not very long." Andromeda replied. "We will need to keep an eye on Lily for the next few hours to make sure nothing unexpected happens." She then turned to Lily. "If you will lie back on the bed, I will undo everything I can today."

Lily nodded and, extracting herself from Hermione's arms, laid herself back on the bed.

"Make sure you record it!" Amelia said before Andromeda could start anything.

Nodding, Andromeda got a fresh sheet of parchment, activated the quill and began to mover her wand in a complicated series of motions. She continued for about 10 minutes before stopping the quill again.

"There you go. I've done as much as I feel I safely can today. All the curses are gone and your core binding is now down to 75%. Please try and sit up slowly." She said in her kind voice to Lily.

Lily gave a nod and slowly sat up. She then swung her feet over the edge of the bed, but stayed sitting.

"Do you feel up to standing?" Andromeda asked.

Lily nodded and slip off the bed. As soon as she was standing, she seemed to lose her balance and heeded to grab hold of Hermione to keep from falling over.

Just then, there was a knock on the door. Dawlish, who was the closest, went to the door and opened it, revealing a middle aged man wearing the same kind of robes as Poppy and Andromeda. As soon as Poppy saw who it was she smiled.

"Ah, Healer Sinclair, perfect timing." She said, motioning for the Healer to enter.

"Healer Pomfry, Healer Tonks." The man greeted the two healers by name and nodded to the other adults.

Poppy went over and shook Sinclair's hand before indicating Lily.

"This is the young lady I spoke to you about yesterday." She said. "Lily Evans-Granger." She then turned to Lily. "Lily, this is Andrew Sinclair, the specialist Healer I spoke to you about."

Lily took a step towards Sinclair and held out her hand.

"Pleased to meet you." She greeted him with a smile.

"And you Miss Evans-Granger." He replied, giving her an appraising look and obviously liking what he saw.

"These are my Parents and Sister. Dan, Emma and Hermione Granger." Lily introduced the three most important people in her life."

Dan came over and shook the healer's hand.

"Dan Granger." He said as they shook hands.

Emma and Hermione followed his example before Sinclair turned back to Lily.

"I have a basic history from Poppy. If you have time, I would like to sit and talk to you all as a group as well as spending time with Lily on her own. It doesn't have to be today, but the sooner the better."

Dan could see Lily fidgeting from one foot to the other, a clear sign that she was nervous.

"We don't have much time today as we have several other things that need our urgent attention. However, we would be please to make an appointment to sit down with you in a week or so." Dan said with a smile.

"Excellent." Sinclair replied. "You can reach me here at St Mungo's. I am here every day so I should be able to manage my schedule to whatever time is convenient to you. I will await your owl!" At this, Sinclair spun on his heel and disappeared out of the door.

Poppy saw the looks on the faces of the Grangers and smiled.

"Don't mind Andrew. He always seems to be in a rush, but he is this country's foremost expert in Transgender Healing." She said.

Dan nodded and then looked at Amelia.

"We should get going. How long will Gringots take?" He asked.

"I expect no more than an hour or so. There will probably be paperwork to sign and you will need some money of you want to go shopping."

Dan looked at Lily and Hermione before exchanging a look with Emma. He then turned back to Amelia.

"Let's get going then. It appears we still have a lot to do!" He said, indicating the door.

"Do you need me to accompany you?" Andromeda asked.

Amelia shook her head.

"No. Your report should suffice. Though you may need to testify on the future." Amelia replied.

Andromeda nodded and promising to get in touch with regards to her Daughter talking to them about Hogwarts, gathers up her things and left.

Amelia then led the rest of the group put of the room and back to the waiting area where they apparated to Gringots.


	7. Chapter 7

The party appeared in a room made of white marble. It was empty apart from three figures, two of which were dressed in heavy metal armour and carried wicked looking weapons. These two stood on either side of the ornate double doors, while the other, who was dressed in an old fashioned business suit, stood to one side. The three figures were clearly not human, being short with sturdy frames, greyish skin and sharp looking teeth. The figure in the business suit stepped forward.

"Welcome to Gringotts." It said with a bow. "How may we help you today?" It enquired.

Amelia returned to bow and indicated for the others to do the same. Once they had all done so, she spoke up.

"Greetings Master Goblin." She replied in a polite and formal tone. "May your profits soar and your enemies fall bankrupt at your feet!" She continued. "We are here to see Account Manager Bladefist, I come escorting the Potter Heir so they may claim their rights!" She finished, all the while keeping her eyes on the goblin.

"Greetings Madame Bones." The goblin replied with what could possibly pass for a smile. "May your accounts thrive and your enemies tremble in fear at your name!" It added. "I will escort you to the waiting area and let Bladefist know of your presence."

Amelia nodded again.

"Thank you Master Goblin." She replied and followed it to the doors, motioning for the others to follow.

Lily, who had been taking all of this in and was still getting used to her head being clearer than she could ever remember it, was curious. So she decided to step forward.

"Greetings Master Goblin." She said giving the goblin a bow, the same as Amelia had done. "May you grow ever richer and your enemies run from your shadow!" She added. She had no idea what she was doing, but it was in the same vein as Amelia.

To say the goblin was surprised would be an understatement. There were very few Wizards or Witches who knew how to properly address a goblin, Madame Bones being one, and here was a young one whom he had never met, following the correct form. He immediately returned the bow.

"And greetings to you young Witch." He replied. "May your accounts overflow with gold and your enemies flee from your voice." He added. "I take it you are the Potter Heir Madame Bones spoke of?" He enquired.

"I believe so Master Goblin." Lily replied. "I'm Lily Evans-Granger! Might I know your name Master Goblin?" She held out her hand without even thinking about it, causing Amelia to gasp slightly.

The goblin was almost struck dumb with shock, Wizards and Witches never asked a goblin their name nor did they ever shake hands. His training soon kicked in however, this child was one to be watched carefully as they could be a powerful ally.

"My name is Griphook Miss Evans-Granger." The goblin replied, shaking her hand gently, not wanting to hurt the young human.

"Pleased to meet you Griphook." She replied. "Please lead the way." She added.

Griphook nodded and led the small party out of the doors and down a long corridor to another door. Opening it, he led the group inside.

"If you will wait here, I will let Bladefist know of your presence." Griphook said, indicating the comfortable looking chairs and sofas inside.

Amelia bowed, followed almost at once by Lily and the others.

"Thank you Griphook." Lily said, giving the goblin a smile.

Griphook gave the goblin version of a smile in response before bowing and leaving the room.

Once Griphook was gone, Amelia turned to Lily.

"How did you know how to do that?" She asked, unable to keep the surprise out of her voice.

"I followed your lead." Lily replied. "I treated this as like going to another country. Whenever we go abroad on holiday, Daddy makes sure we know how to behave so we don't offend anyone. Since you obviously knew what you were doing, I simply copied you!" She added with a smile.

Amelia returned the smile.

"You did exactly the right thing Lily." She said. "Just make sure you keep it up. You have already made an ally today and having goblin allies is always a good thing!" She added.

"It's just manners." Lily replied. "I will always greet people politely, even if they are rude in return."

"And that will serve you well in the coming months and years." Amelia added. "In many ways, the Wizarding world is well behind the non-magical world and social practices are just one of them. As the Potter Heir, you will be expected to behave in a certain way. It will be time consuming to learn, but you need to do so, so you can navigate through our world with the minimum of fuss."

Lily nodded, but something about this made Emma sit up.

"I take it the Potters were quite high in the social hierarchy?" She asked.

Amelia looked surprised for a moment before nodding.

"Of course, being new to the Wizarding world you wouldn't know." She replied. "The Most Noble and Most Ancient House of Potter, along with the other Most Noble and Most Ancient families are right at the top of our social tree."

"Are they like Dukes or Earls?" Emma asked, now curious.

Amelia, who knew quite a bit about the muggle world, nodded again.

"Very similar, but we don't have those types of titles. The head of House Potter is referred to as Lord Potter, as are the heads of all of the higher level families. The other families are simply Misters."

"How many levels are there?" Emma asked, rather shocked that her down-to-earth Daughter would have to navigate this type of landscape.

"Ten." Amelia replied. "At the top we have the Most Noble and Most Ancient. Then we have the Most Noble and Ancient, then the Most Ancient and Noble, the Noble, the Ancient, Clan, Family, New Blood, Foreign and finally Muggleborn, or First Generation Witches and Wizards!" She finished.

"So my Sister is at the top and I'm at the bottom?" Hermione asked with more than a trace of anger in her voice.

"Not at all." Amelia replied. "While that would be true if Lily was not legally your Sister, the fact that your Parents adopted her changes things. As her adopted family, you are all taken under the banner of House Potter. You will be entitled to wear the House Potter crest on your robes and you will be given all the legal protections the House provides. If I am made Lily's Magical Guardian, I will also be made Regent of House Potter, allowing me to make decisions regarding finances and other legal issues. I will not, however, be able to sell any current holdings or override any wishes made by your parents. This will last until Lily comes of age at 17 and formally takes up the title of Lady Potter. I will also have the right to nominate proxies for the House Potter seats on the Wizengamot as well as any other seats the Potters control."

Dan, who up to this point had been listening without comment, decided to clarify a point.

"So this Wizengamot, not only is it the sole body that makes the laws and sees that they are enforced, but it is made up of unelected members?" He asked.

Amelia could only nod at this.

"The Wizengamot is currently 150 members strong, though I have never seen all 150 there at once." She replied. "100 of those seats are the hereditary ones, who have differing numbers of votes depending on their Houses level. The other 50 are nominated positions. 30 are lifetime nominations and the remaining 20 are 5 year terms. All the nominated positions have a single vote."

"Who nominates them?" Dan asked, looking at Emma who had a pad and pen in her hand and was making notes.

"When a vacancy in the nominated seats comes up, it works in one of two ways. If it is a lifetime seat, a formal application must be made and the applicant must be supported by at least 5 of the hereditary seats. The Wizengamot then votes between all the applications received. If it is a 5 year seat, any sitting member may nominate anyone they so choose and there is a general vote for the nominees, sometimes lasting several rounds until an overall winner is elected."

"And where do House Bones fit into this?" Emma asked.

"Hose Bones is another of the Houses at the top of the tree, along with Houses Black, Longbottom and Peverell. They are the so called 'Big Five' and wield considerable social and political power.

"So are you head of House Bones?" Dan asked.

"I am the Regent for House Bones as the next in line is my Niece Susan, but she is only 10. I oversee the family in her stead, though I try and include her as much as possible."

"What about the other houses?" Emma asked, still scribbling away.

"House Black's seat is empty as the only current male heir has been in prison for a decade and no representatives have been agreed. Should he die, it could go to one of several people. House Longbottom is held by the Dowager Lady Augusta Longbottom until her Grandson Neville, who is also the same age as Lily and Hermione, comes of age. The final seat, the House of Peverell, has been held in proxy by the Potters. Though, that will change under the current laws."

"In what way?" Lily asked. She had been listening to everything Amelia said.

"Well the inheritance act, that was modified when you were a baby, says that all heirs must separate the bloodlines but having different wives for each name!"

Lily looked rather ill at this, but Hermione picked up something.

"How does this effect Lily?" Hermione asked, not wanting to think about the consequences for her Sister.

"I'm not sure." Amelia admitted. "However we do have time to figure it out. Once we have Lily's legal situation confirmed and her Magical Guardian sorted out, we can then deal with the situation. Healer Tonks' Husband is a Solicitor and an expert in both Magical and Non-Magical law. He would be a good person to meet with to help you deal with whatever situation you find yourselves in!"

All the Grangers nodded, just as the door opened and Griphook entered with another goblin. Though this one was older and dressed far more richly than Griphook. He was clearly someone of much higher status.

The older goblin bowed at the group.

"I am Account Manager Bladefist." He said, eyeing the group.

Amelia immediately stepped forward and bowed in reply, indicating to the others that they should do the same.

"Pleased to meet you Master Bladefist." Amelia replied. "May your coffers grow full and your enemies quake at your name!" She added

"Welcome Madame Bones." Bladefist continued. "May your endeavours succeed and your rivals trail in your wake! I understand you bring the Potter Heir so they can claim their rights?"

"I do Master Bladefist." Amelia replied, motioning Lily to stand beside her. "This is Miss Evans-Granger whom I believe to be the Potter Heir. I request an inheritance test be performed so we can confirm it and then read the will of her Parents."

"Pleased to meet you Master Bladefist." Lily bowed as she was introduced. "May you make profit with honour and you enemies fall into obscurity!" She added.

This caused Bladefist's smile, if you could call it that, to widen.

"And may your accounts grow fat and your enemies die in poverty Miss Evans-Granger." He replied. "If you will accompany me to my office, we will get the inheritance test done at once so we can proceed with any other business." Bladefist immediately turned and headed down the corridor.

Amelia, took Lily by the hand and they followed the goblin, the others a pace or two behind. After taking several turns, they came to a very ornate door that was labelled 'Bladefist, Senior Account Manager'. The doors opened and Bladefist led the group inside. Snapping his fingers, enough chairs to seat the whole party appeared in front of the desk while the goblin took a seat behind it. He then waited for the whole party to sit before looking at Amelia.

"While the cost of the inheritance test will be taken out of the Potter vaults if Miss Evans-Granger is confirmed as the Potter Heir, where are we to take the cost if she is not?" Bladefist enquired.

"You may take it out of the Bones Vault." Amelia replied, showing a ring on her finger.

Bladefist noted the ring and nodded again.

"Very well." He added. "Let us proceed!" He snapped his fingers again and a piece of gold tinged parchment appeared on the desk along with an ornate, but very sharp looking knife. He then looked at Lily. "I need you to cut your finger and let seven drops fall on the parchment." He ordered.

Lily looked at Amelia, who gave her a comforting smile.

"Don't worry. It won't hurt much and will heal as soon as the required blood is on the parchment."

Gulping, Lily stood and approached the desk. Gingerly picking up the knife, she made a small cut on the middle finger of her left hand, wincing slightly at the pain. She then held her hand over the parchment and counted as seven drops of her blood fell onto it. Once all seven drops had fallen, the cut magically healed and Lily put down the knife.

The parchment began to glow and a web of names, connected by lines, began to appear. It was several minutes before it was finished. Once it has stopped glowing, Bladefist picked the parchment up. He then cackled and gave a wide 'smile'.

"Well, as expected, you are the sole Potter Heir." He said, concentrating on the parchment. "I can also see you are in line to inherit the Peverell seat, which is again to be expected, as Potters have held that seat for several hundred years." Bladefist then looked at another part of the parchment and his eyebrows raised. "You are also are an heir to the Gryffindor line, though not the primary one and you have inherited the Slytherin line through your Mother. It appears she was descended from a line of Squibs from one of Salazar's Great-Grandchildren." He paused. "It also states that you are the primary Black Heir! That is strange as, while you are related to the Black's through your Father, there are closer persons who should be in line in front of you. The only explanation is that the current Lord Black has made you his heir! I will have to get this looked into! This also means we can read the Potter's will. Do you wish to proceed?" Bladefist asked.

Amelia turned to Lily and gave her a brief nod. Lily then turned to her Parents who both gave her smiles and nods of encouragement.

"Yes please Master Bladefist." Lily replied.

Bladefist nodded and snapped his fingers again. The knife vanished and a folded over packet of parchment, sealed with red wax, appeared. He then broke the seal and unfolded the thick packet. He then cleared his throat.

"This is the Last Will and Testament of James Charlus Potter and Lily Katherine Potter. This Will, written on 1st October 1981 supersedes all Wills dated before this date. I James Charlus Potter, being of sound mind and body do leave all my worldly goods and titles, barring some exceptions listed below, to my only child Harry James Potter. Should he not be of age at the time of my death, these should be held in trust for him until he becomes of age with his Mother, Lily Katherine Potter, as Trustee. Should his Mother not survive me then I appoint my Brother in all but blood, Sirius Orion Black, Harry's sworn Godfather, as his guardian and trustee. Should Sirius be unable to serve as guardian and trustee, the following are chosen in order of preference. Frank and Alice Longbottom as Alice is Harry's sworn Godmother. Xenophilius and Celine Lovegood, long term friends and colleagues. And finally Edgar and Sarah Bones, colleagues, friends and allies. Should any of the above list not be able to serve in this capacity I ask that a suitable guardian be found among the allies of House Potter as decreed by our writ of alliance that is enclosed. Under no circumstances is Harry to be placed with Lily's Sister Petunia and her Husband. They despise magic and I would fear for Harry's safety should he be placed there. Also Albus Dumbledore is not to be made Harry's guardian, the man holds too many secrets to hold my trust. The other beneficiaries are:- Sirius Orion Black. 1,000,000 Galleons. Remus John Lupin. 500,000 Galleons and a lifetimes supply of Wolfsbane. Peter Andrew Pettigrew. 500,000 Galleons as thanks for being our secret keeper. Celine Lovegood. 500,000 Galleons. Edgar Bones. 500,000 Galleons."

There was silence in the room, Amelia was trying to get her head around several points, but the Grangers were in shock at the numbers. It was Lily who spoke first.

"I'm sorry to sound ignorant Master Bladefist, but what is a Galleon and how does that equate to pounds?" She asked.

Bladefist nodded in understanding.

"The Galleon is the primary unit of currency in the magical world, though it is broken down into sickles and knuts." He replied. "And as for what it equates to, one Galleon is worth 20 British pounds." This made Lily gasp.

"Those bequests were for £10 million each!" She managed to say. "How much is remaining of the Potter's wealth?" She asked.

Bladefist snapped his fingers again and another sheet of parchment appeared.

"As of this morning, the Potter family has four vaults. You can only access your trust vault until you are 17. Your trust vault contains 10,000 Galleons and it is filled up to that level every year on your Birthday from your main family vault. The main Potter vault contains 1.2 billion Galleons worth of coins as well as jewels and other treasures. Then there is the Potter treasure vault. This contains many millions of Galleons worth of art and furniture. The Potter family Jewels are stored there as well as other items of great sentimental and monetary value. You may borrow items from this vault for special occasions, but they must be returned within a few days. The final vault is you Mother's personal vault. It contains all her personal items that were not taken into hiding with them and a small amount of gold. You cannot access the money but the personal items can be removed at any time."

"So I have £200,000 pounds a year to spend?" Lily gasped.

Bladefist nodded.

"You do indeed. It is not as generous as some trust vaults, I believe your Mother had a hand in reducing the yearly amount. Your Father's was almost twice that amount!"

This caused Lily to gape. Amelia, who had finally gotten her head round the information in the will, spoke up.

"When the Will said Sirius Black was Harry's sworn Godfather, does that mean he took part in the Godfather ritual?" She asked.

Bladefist nodded.

"Yes, the ritual is noted to have taken place on 2nd August 1980 at Potter Manor." Bladefist was now smiling almost fiendishly.

"Does that mean something?" Dan asked, still trying to get his head around how wealthy his younger Daughter was.

"Yes it does." Amelia replied. She heard Minerva gasp as she too must have put the pieces together. "Have you been told how Lily's birth parents met their untimely deaths?" She asked.

"Yes. Professor McGonagall told us they were betrayed by a friend." Dan replied.

"That is what is generally believed." Amelia continued. "Sirius Black, James Potter's oldest friend was accused of betraying the Potters and has spent the last 9 years in prison for that crime."

"Go on." Dan said, knowing this was leading somewhere but he could not see where.

"Well the Will gives two important pieces of information. First it states that Sirius was Lily's sworn Godfather and Bladefist has confirmed it was by the Godfather ritual. Had Sirius really betrayed the Potters, the oaths he made as Godfather would have demanded a heavy price for that betrayal. By the time he was arrested, he would have at least lost his magic, if not his life for doing so. The rituals are old and there is not much leeway in them. Secondly, Peter Pettigrew is thanked for being the secret keeper, something that it is thought that Sirius was. This means that Sirius has been falsely imprisoned and I need to look into getting him released."

"That's all very well and good." Dan said. "But I want to know who Lily's Magical Guardian is? It needs to be resolved today!"

"I agree!" Amelia replied. "Of those listed, Sirius is in prison and it will be a while before we can get him released and even then he may not be healthy enough. Frank and Alice Longbottom have been in a long term care ward at St Mungo's since shortly after the Potters were attacked. Celine Lovegood was killed in an accident a couple of months ago and her husband Xenophilius is struggling looking after their only Daughter by himself, so he would not be suitable. My Brother Edgar and his family were killed less than a month after the Potters, he was one of the last victims of the war. So we need to look up the list of allies as ordered."

Bladefist silently handed over a signed document. Amelia took it and examined it. The list of allies was long, but many of them were unsuitable for various reasons. She then turned to the Grangers.

"Since the Bones are listed as major allies to the Potters, I believe I would be deemed acceptable as a Magical Guardian under the terms of the will." She said. "The only other person would be Augusta Longbottom as the Longbottom's have been the Potters primary allies for centuries. However, she has Neville to look after and is not young woman."

Dan looked at his Wife and Daughters before turning back to Amelia.

"If you fit the terms of the Will, then we are happy to proceed under our original agreement." He stated.

Amelia nodded and turned back to Bladefist.

"Since none of the named guardians are available to take over, I would like to claim the Magical Guardianship of Lily Evans-Granger, formerly known as Harry Potter."

Bladefist nodded and snapped his fingers again. Another document appeared along with a strange looking black quill.

"You satisfy the terms of the Potter Will and I, Senior Account Manager Bladefist, hereby ask you to sign the contract of Magical Guardianship!"

Amelia nodded, took up the strange quill and signed her name at the bottom of the document. The ink appeared red and gleamed. Once she had signed, the document glowed.

"Congratulations Madame Bones. You are now the sworn Magical Guardian of Lily Evans-Granger, formerly known as Harry Potter. As Miss Evans-Granger's Magical Guardian, you are also named Regent of House Potter." There was a glow on one of Amelia's fingers and a gold ring appeared, inset with rubies. "We will have to have a full meeting at a later date to discuss the Potter estate. Do you require a Potter residence to be made available for Miss Evans-Granger and her family?" Bladefist asked formally.

"Not at this time thank you." Amelia replied, seeing both Dan and Lily shake their heads. "I will require the Heir's ring for Miss Evans-Granger and she will need a key to her trust vault."

"Of course." Bladefist replied, snapping his fingers again. An ornate velvet covered ring box appeared. He then turned to Lily. "Miss Evans-Granger. Please take the ring out of the box and slide it onto your right hand ring finger."

Lily nodded, still rather overwhelmed at this, she opened the box to find a golden ring similar to the Regent ring Amelia wore, but with a smaller stone and a symbol that Lily assumed was the emblem of the house. With shaking hands, she took the ring out of the box and slid it onto the ring finger of her right hand. It slid on easily and when it was in place, it glowed and re-sized itself so it fit perfectly.

"Congratulations." Bladefist said with another 'smile'. "You have now been accepted by the Potter family magic as Heir to the house. As such you have certain rights and your whole family is now considered part of House Potter." He snapped his fingers once again and the box disappeared. It was replaced by a golden block. "Please press your ring finger on the block and hold it there."

Lily did as she was asked, she felt a sharp prick and the block glowed briefly. Then it appeared to melt and a key was left behind. After a nod from Bladefist, Lily picked the key up, she then looked at her figure but could see no blood.

"That is the key to your trust vault. You can use it any time to withdraw money. However, if you are shopping here in the alley or in Hogsmeade, you can use your ring to purchase anything and the gold will be taken out of your vault. All other keys have now been cancelled."

"So there is no real need to carry any money?" Lily asked.

"If you are travelling abroad, or want to shop elsewhere you will need gold. I recommend that you get a money pouch linked to your vault so you do not have to visit us every time you need money. It will be linked to you by a drop of blood so no-one else will be able to use it. Should you wish to change it to muggle currency, we can do that for a small fee."

Seeing Amelia nod, Lily did the same.

"Can I have one of those pouches please?" Lily asked.

"Certainly." Bladefist replied, once more snapping his fingers. A small leather pouch appeared along with another sharp knife. "The pouch will require only one drop!" He said, indicating the knife.

Sighing, Lily picked up the knife and repeated the cutting of her finger from earlier. Once a single drop of her blood had hit the pouch, it glowed. It then appeared to fill up with money.

"The pouch holds 25 Galleons at one time. If you take out all of it, it will fill up again. But if anyone else tried to take money out, the pouch and gold will vanish. Is there anything else Gringotts can do for you today?"

"Does Hermione have the same Magical Guardian as me or does she have to appoint her own?" Lily asked.

Bladefist gave another feral smile.

"Since she is under House Potter, the Regent will automatically be her Magical Guardian. That will be the same for anyone in your immediate family." Bladefist replied.

This caused all the Grangers to give a relived sigh. Lily looked at Emma and Dan who both shook their heads. She then turned to Amelia, who gave her a slight nod. Amelia then turned to Bladefist.

"That is all for today Master Bladefist. I will send you an owl in the next week or so to arrange a meeting were we can discuss the Potter estate in more depth."

"Very well Madame Bones, I will await your owl. Now I'm sure you have things to do!"

Amelia nodded and, repeating the formal greeting from earlier, the whole group left the office and headed out onto Dagon Alley.

When they reached the outside, Amelia turned to the Grangers.

"I will leave you in Professor McGonagall's capable hands as I have to file the reports. I will be in touch with you in a few days so we can meet up and I can introduce you to my Niece Susan and maybe some other girls the same age as yours."

Dan nodded.

"Thank you for taking care of things. We'll await your letter." He replied.

"I recommend you get a post owl of your own." Amelia said. "So you can communicate with Gringotts if you need to as well as myself or anyone else in the magical world. Professor McGonagall will show you where."

The Grangers nodded, but didn't say anything.

"I'll leave you to it. I'll try and come and see you sometime this week." She said. Then, giving them a smile and a wave, she led her two Aurors a little distance away before they all vanished with a sharp crack.

Dan then turned to Minerva.

"Well, I think we need a sit down before we go shopping." He said. The others all nodded in agreement.

"Fortescue's Ice Cream shop is just down here, you can get hot drinks and snacks there too." Minerva replied.

"Sounds like a plan." Dan replied, indicating that Minerva should lead the way.

With a slight smile on her face, Minerva led the group down the alley to the popular ice cream shop.


End file.
